
Class 



^^ 



ml^SjL 



%rigMfl°. 



CORfRIGHT DEPOSIR 



THE GOVERNMENT OF 

THE UNITED STATES 



BY 



L. S. SHIMMELL, Ph.D. 

DISTRICT SUPERVISOR OF SCHOOLS, HARRISBURG, PA. 

AUTHOR OF "THE PENNSYLVANIA CITIZEN," " A 

HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA," AND "BORDER 

WARFARE IN PENNSYLVANIA DURING 

THE REVOLUTION" 




NEW YORK 
CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. 
1912 






*b 






Copyright, 1906, by 
MAYNARD, MERRILL, & CO. 

[10] 



Qi 



r 






PEEFACE 



Many teachers entertain a conviction that most text-books for 
use in grammar- and high-school grades, especially in the latter, 
require too much time for a thorough mastery of their contents. 
The number of subjects taught in schools of all kinds and grades has 
greatly multiplied in recent years; but the school day is no longer 
than it was — in fact, it is shorter; nor has the school year been 
lengthened much, least of all in towns and cities. Consequently 
there is much complaint concerning overloaded courses of study 
and crowded annual, weekly, and daily programs. There are those 
among educators, and others interested in educational improvement, 
who advocate a reduction in the number of subjects taught and a 
more intensive study of the branches retained. It is not within the 
province of this Preface to predict how the evil complained of will 
be remedied; but experience in the schoolroom has led many teachers 
to believe that less voluminous text-books would be at least a partial 
remedy. If the demands of the age require an increasingly greater 
number of subjects to be taught, it follows that less time must be 
given to each subject. But unless the text-books are proportionately 
reduced in their scope, the attempt to get over them will result in 
skimming and skipping, and consequently in an imperfect and 
evanescent knowledge of the contents. 

From this point of view, the author herewith offers a text-book 
on the Government of the United States, which he believes will 
perform its mission without invading the rights of other branches 
of study having an admitted right to a place in the curriculum. In 
preparing the book, great care was taken not to omit anything 
essential to organic unity, logical and chronological sequence, 
historic illumination, and practical application. Omissions are 
chiefly along the line of economics and social and political science. 
Not that matters pertaining to public finance, banking, taxation, 
international law, municipal law, political parties, civil and political 
rights, are nowhere found in the book. Certain elements of these 



4 PREFACE 

subjects are incorporated wherever they have an incidental bearing, 
but there is no space devoted to elaborate discussion of them. 

The author further desires to call attention to some features of the 
Chapter on the Constitution. He wishes to emphasize what he 
says in his note to the teachers, p. 37. The direction therein given 
for the thorough study of the text of the Constitution by means of 
questions, should be carefully observed. If the answers are not 
faithfully garnered and stored away in the memory, the pupil will 
be without a knowledge of many of the simplest, yet most essential, 
elements of the Constitution. For, as is stated in that note, the 
answers are not found in the author's text, but in the text of the 
Constitution. Then, too, the pedagogic value of the questions should 
not be overlooked. Many pupils in secondary schools have not had 
sufficient mental discipline to read the thoughts; they will read 
simply the words, especially in subjects that are new, and somewhat 
abstract like the Constitution. Questions and answers do more to 
make pupils think than consecutive statement does. Catechizing 
acts on the mind like the whip on the flesh. It promotes activity. 

The last chapter will enable the pupil to make comparisons of the 
Government of the United States with that of the leading nations of 
the world. Such a comparative knowledge cannot fail to be of inter- 
est and benefit. The people of the United States since the Spanish- 
American War have been forced to take note of all phases of life as 
it exists in other countries. Two of those whose governments are 
treated in this book — Russia and Japan — recently became objects of 
world-wide interest in everything that pertains to them. The other 
three are the mother-countries of most native-born Americans — 
England, France, and Germany. A study of their government 
needs no apology. 

L. S. Shimmell. 

May 5, 1906. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Forms of Civil Government: Their Ortgin and Nature 7 

II. The Development of Local, State, and National Gov- 
ernment in the United States . . . . . 16 

III. The Formation and Establishment of the United 

States Government . . . . ' . . . .26 

IV. A More Perfect Union Formed 31 

V. The Constitution of the United States .... 37 

1. The Preamble 37 

2. The Distribution of Powers . . . , . .39 

3. Article I. — The Legislative Department . . . 40 

a. The Congress . 40 

b. The House of Representatives .... 40 

c. The Senate 47 

d. Both Houses of Congress . . . . .52 

e. The Houses Separately 53 

/. Compensation, Privileges, and Disabilities . 56 

g. The Making of Laws ... . . .58 

h. The Powers of Congress 61 

i. Powers Forbidden to Congress . . • . 73 

% Powers Forbidden to the States . . . 76 
5 



6 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

V. The Constitution of the United States— Continued 

4. Article II. — The Executive Department • . • 79 

a. The President and Vice-President . .79 

b. The President's Powers . • • • V . 87 

c. The Presidential Duties . . . ' « . .95 

d. Removal by Impeachment . . . .96 

5. Article III. — The Judicial Department • . . 96 

a. The United States Courts 96 

b. The Jurisdiction of United States Courts . 99 

c. Treason 103 

6. Article IV.— The States and Territories . . . 104 

a. Their Official Acts . . . • . . .104 

b. Privileges of Citizens . . . . . . 105 

c. New .States, and the Territories . . . 106 

d. Protection to the States 109 

7. Article V. — Amendments 110 

8. Article VI. — General Provisions 112 

9. The Establishment of the Constitution . . . 114 
10. The Amendments to the Constitution • . .115 

a. The Bill of Rights .115 

b. The Judicial Power Abridged • • 122 

c. The Election of President and Vice-Presi- 

dent Changed ....... 122 

d. The War Amendments 123 

VI. A Comparison of Governments 128 

a. England .128 

b. France .134 

c. Germany ••••••••••• 138 

d. Russia ••••• • 142 

e. Japan •••••••••••• 145 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 
UNITED STATES 




THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON 



CHAPTER I 

FORMS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT: THEIR ORIGIN AND 

NATURE 

I. The Necessity of Government Everywhere. — When- 
ever a number of persons are associated for any definite 
purpose they must be controlled, that is, governed; 
otherwise confusion and disorder will defeat the object of 
the association. There must be government in the fam- 
ily, in the school, in the church — to maintain the order 
required to accomplish the purpose of these social bodies. 

7 



8 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

The control implied in government always has order for 
its object. A band of robbers may be controlled, and 
usually is, by some leader; but his control seeks disorder, 
not order. 

2. Civil Government and Its Necessity. — It is impossible 
for man to live alone. His nature and his necessities 
oblige him to seek communion and fellowship with others. 
Hence he has always lived in communities. The govern- 
ment of a community is civil or political government. 
Selfishness — the thing that makes government indispens- 
able in every form of human organization — is consider- 
ably curbed in the family by affection. In a community 
selfishness is not checked by family ties; and without 
civil government this evil tendency of man would over- 
ride all rights and privileges and cause disorder to reign 
supreme. 

The chief need for civil government, therefore, lies in 
the establishment and preservation of order in the com- 
munity. This may be termed its police function. It 
consists of the making and enforcement of laws for the 
protection of life and property from malice, avarice, and 
neglect. Originally the police function was the only 
function of government; and in every new community it 
is still the first and only one to be exercised — for order 
is of primal necessity. Civil government in older com- 
munities — especially in highly civilized ones — does much 
more than protect life and property. Especially is this 
the case in recent times. It builds roads and bridges; 
it educates the youth; it provides for the poor; it promotes 
the health of the people; it furnishes lights, parks, and 
drives; it brings us our mail; it pensions our soldiers, 
and attends to other affairs that concern all the people 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 9 

alike. This fatherly care which civil government ex- 
ercises over the people is called paternalism. 

3. The Origin of Government. — Civil government had 
its origin in family government. The earliest communi- 
ties in every race consisted of families, and were banded 
together by blood relationship. First, there was the 
single family, governed by the father. As long as he lived 
all families arising by the marriage of his children, as well 
as of his more remote descendants, were subject to his 
control. His power may be summed up in the words 
king and priest; for he governed in things political and 
things spiritual. When the father died the oldest liv- 
ing male descendant succeeded to the rulership. This 
primitive kind of government is known as patriarchal 
government, and is well illustrated in the patriarchs of 
the Bible. 

4. The Evolution of the State. — In the course of time 
the family broadened into the house, which was a large, 
composite family, no longer united by the bond of kin- 
ship, but by common religious rites and observances. 
Some kinsman, by virtue of his priority of birth, continued 
to be the ruler. The houses united and formed tribes, 
whose chiefs likewise held their places by the law of 
kinship with the tribe. The necessity of having some 
able leader in case of war among tribes naturally led to 
the selection of the hardiest and most experienced man. 
Having successfully commanded a tribe or several tribes 
in a military expedition, and possibly subjugated other 
tribes, such a leader would frequently usurp power after- 
wards and emerge from his temporary leadership as king, 
with a number of tribes under his absolute dominion. If 
his male descendants were men sufficiently able to 



10 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

perpetuate the rule of their father the kingship passed 
to the hereditary state; otherwise it remained elective. 
Tribes so united constituted the earliest state* After 
some time the king, in order to strengthen himself, 
associated with his rule persons of power and influence. 
Out of these alliances grew the king's guards and stand- 
ing armies, the privileged orders, the nobilities, and the 
aristocracies of the more civilized states. 

5. Early States without Land. — The earliest political 
organizations were traveling states. They had no 
territorial boundaries. Civilized states have passed 
through four stages of development. The first stage was 
that of hunting and fishing, or the savage stage, of which 
the American Indian is typical. The second stage was 
that of keeping herds and flocks, as did the patriarchs of 
the Bible. In both these stages the state was nomadic; 
for its people were now here, now there — wherever game 
and fish or grass and water were most abundant. In the 
third stage the people abandoned their migratory life 
and tilled the soil. But agriculture requires implements, 
and the making of these brought about the fourth stage 
of development in civilization, that of manufacturing. 
In the two latter stages the state came to be associated 
with the land on which its people dwelt. In this transi- 
tion, for instance, the state of the Franks became the 
state of France; that of the Germans, Germany; that of 
the English, England. States were then no longer bound 
together by kinship, but by land. 

6. The Modern State. — The original conception of a 
state embraced two elements only — a people and a 
government. When civilization reached the agricultural 
and manufacturing stages a third element became in- 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 11 

volved in the idea. The term state then expressed the 
combined idea of people, territory, and government. 
"The state/ 7 says Bluntschli, " is the politically organized 
people of a particular land/ 7 A State in the United 
States, as defined by the Supreme Court, " is a political 
community of free citizens, occupying a territory of 
defined boundaries, and organized under a government 
sanctioned and limited by a written constitution, and 
established by the consent of the governed." This 
definition applies to the United States as a whole, as well 
as to the individual States. 

7. Types of Civil Government. — There are three types 
of civil government, which are designated by Aristotle 
as : government by an individual, government by a few, 
and government by many. Expressed in other words 
these types are the monarchical, the aristocratic, and the 
democratic form of government. Where the rule of the 
Individual or the Few or the Many is directed to the 
benefit of the community, or state at large, the govern- 
ment is normal; where it is directed to the private interest 
of the Individual or the Few or the Many it is perverted. 
The perversion of monarchy is tyranny; of aristocracy, 
oligarchy; and of democracy, demagogy and anarchy. 

8. Special Forms of Government. — Few of the modern 
governments are pure and simple monarchies or aristoc- 
racies or democracies. The three typical forms are 
sometimes combined into one and the same government. 
However, in all such cases one of the typical forms 
predominates. The - special forms of government in 
which the rule by the Individual predominates are the 
oldest and most numerous. Many people think that 
government by the Few, and more especially by the 



12 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Many, is possible only after the people of a state have 
become possessed of intelligence and self-control. 

A Patriarchy is a government in which the eldest living 
male parent is the absolute ruler of a family which has 
descended from a common progenitor. Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob were patriarchal rulers. 

A Theocracy is a government in which God rules 
through the institution of a priesthood. The govern- 
ment which Moses established among the Israelites was 
theocratic. 

An Absolute Monarchy is a government in which a single 
person is the absolute ruler; that is, all the powers of 
government are vested in him. He makes the laws, 
executes them, and punishes violations of them. Not 
that he attends to all this personally; but those who do 
derive their authority from him. Though the will of an 
absolute monarch is the law of the land, yet the plain 
rights of his subjects act as a check upon him. Even a 
tyrant fears revolution and personal violence. China is 
an example of absolute monarchy. 

A Limited Monarchy is a government whose powers are 
not all vested in the monarch; some are granted to the 
people. Generally, the making of the laws is either 
wholly or in part in the hands of the people. Modern 
kingdoms are nearly all limited monarchies. In England 
about all that is left of the monarchy is the name; the 
King can only advise, and even his advice, when given in a 
formal way, as in the King's address to Parliament, is 
formulated by the Cabinet, whose members represent the 
will of the people. The law-making power in England is 
entirely with the people. No sovereign since the Han- 
overian dynasty came to the throne in 1714 has used the 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 13 

veto power. Nor does the House of Lords, which is an 
aristocratic feature of the government, withhold its con- 
sent to an act passed by the Commons, unless there is 
some doubt as to the will of the people. 

An Elective Monarchy is one in which the king is 
elected. Greece and Norway are elective monarchies. 
Originally, kings were elected (see p. 9) ; but the desire 
to perpetuate power, wealth, and glory in a family led 
to the usurpation of the kingship. 

An Hereditary Monarchy is one in which the crown 
descends to some member of the royal family. The rule 
of succession varies in different monarchies. In some the 
Salic law, which prevents females from inheriting the 
throne, is in force. Such used to be the case in France, 
and in Spain prior to the time of Isabella. 

An Aristocracy is a government in which a few men 
distinguished by birth, culture, and wealth exercise 
supreme power jointly. This is a very unstable form of 
government, and generally passes into the hands of one or 
of many, becoming either a monarchy or a democracy. 
The Italian cities of the Middle Ages, notably Venice, 
were aristocracies. The nobility of modern monarchies 
is an aristocratic feature of government; but it is 
everywhere subordinated either to the king or to the 
people. 

An Empire, in a loose sense of the word, is any monar- 
chy that assumes such a name; in the strict sense it is 
an aggregation of conquered, colonized, or confederated 
states, each with its own government subordinate or 
tributary to that of the empire as a whole. The ruler of 
an empire is called emperor. The Roman Empire con- 
sisted largely of conquered states. England is both a 



14 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

kingdom and an empire. As an empire it consists of 
conquered and colonized states added to the kingdom. 
Its ruler is styled King of the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India. Germany is 
mostly an empire of confederated states; and the King 
of Prussia is Emperor of Germany. An empire is gener- 
ally considered as a grant, and royalty as a right. 

A Democracy is a government administered directly by 
the people. It is possible in a small state only, where the 
people have not far to go in order to meet in a body for 
the purpose of making laws and electing officers. In 
Rhode Island, for a brief period in its infancy, every man 
who was the head of a family was a member of the 
General Court (legislature). And in Pennsylvania every 
freeholder was entitled to attend the first session of the 
General Assembly. The townships of New England are 
at the present day pure democracies. The referendum, 
i. e., submitting a public question directly to a vote 
of the people, is based on the principle of a pure 
democracy. 

A Republic is a democracy in which the people elect 
representatives to make the laws, administer justice, and 
attend to the affairs of state in general. Representa- 
tive democracy is the only form of democratic govern- 
ment that is practicable for large states. There is little 
difference between a democracy and a republic, for in both 
the sovereign power is in the hands of the people. The 
representatives in a republic are the agents of the people 
and simply act in their stead. In the making of laws 
the members of a legislature are politically identical with 
the people. The United States government and forty- 
five State governments are all republican in form. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 15 
9. The Best Form of Government.— Pope says: 

'For forms of government let fools contest, 
Whate'er is best administered, is best." 

William Penn, in his " Frame of Government " for 
Pennsylvania, says that "Though good laws do well, 
good men do better/' Both these utterances lay much 
stress on good men for the administration of government. 
In an inquiry, therefore, as to what form of government 
is best, we may get some light by asking the question, 
What form of government produces the best rulers? A 
republican government makes the people themselves, 
and not one or a few, responsible for the security of their 
rights, as in a monarchy or an aristocracy. As a rule all 
our interests in life are never so well guarded as when we 
guard them ourselves. Hence it may be inferred that 
popular government produces the best rulers, provided, 
of course, that the people have the necessary intelligence 
and morality to understand and practice the right prin- 
ciples of government. Another question that arises is, 
Which form of government is most easily perverted and 
overturned? History is full of examples where monarchs 
became tyrants and aristocracies became oligarchies. 
As to republican government, it is still on trial. It is 
true that republics have been perverted and overthrown, 
in both ancient and modern times, but they were not 
established on absolute equality of rights, which is the 
foundation on which ours rests. 



CHAPTER II 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL 
GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES 

i. The Origin of the Township. — The American town- 
ship had its origin in Europe among the Teutonic, or 
Germanic, races, from which the Germans, the Anglo- 
Saxons, the Danes, the Scandinavians, and the Dutch 
have descended. The Teutons, or ancient Germans, 
possessed and wandered over the whole territory from 
the Rhine to the Vistula, and even farther eastward. 

When a cl^n of those ancient Germans ceased to 
wander from place to place and settled permanently 
somewhere (see p. 10), they formed a village. This was 
protected by a wall, outside of which lay a belt of land 
which they used for tillage and grazing. The wall was 
called a tun, and the land a mark. The village became 
known either as the mark or the tun or town — in England, 
as the town. The fellow-tribesmen of a town had local 
self-government. They met in town meetings to make 
local laws, elect local officers, and decide questions of 
justice. 

When the Anglo-Saxons had been converted to 
Christianity, the people became subject to church gov- 
ernment as well as to civil government. In order to 
administer church government locally, parishes were 
established, which were generally coextensive with the 
townships. The parish exercised the right to lay taxes 

16 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 17 

for church support. By and by the parish took the place 
of the township in England and administered both spir- 
itual and temporal affairs. Hence it was that in some 
of the English colonies in America, where the Church of 
England was dominant, notably in Virginia, the name 
parish was applied to what in other colonies was known 
as the township. In Louisiana the comities are called 
parishes. 

After the Norman conquest local government in 
England fell into the hands of great lords. The town- 
ship or parish became the manor, whose chief officers 
were responsible to the lords, rather than to the people. 
However, the ancient town meeting survived and con- 
tinued to exercise some local power. 

2. The Township in New England. — From these 
different forms of local government at home the colonists 
in America selected that best suited to their own con- 
ditions. As there were to be no lords of the manor among 
the Puritans in America-, they selected the parish as the 
unit of local government. They gave it the name of 
town or township, because it was the oldest and most 
expressive name. New England was settled largely by 
church congregations led across the sea and into the 
wilderness by their pastors. The people liked to live 
near the church; and as farming could not be carried on 
extensively, on account of the poor soil, they settled in 
compact communities around the church. To live in 
towns was also a protection from the Indians. It was in 
this way that New England came to have the ancient 
tun or town as a unit of local government. The church 
was the nucleus of the town (remember town means the 
town proper and all the country roundabout). 



18 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES . ^ 

Once every year a town meeting was held — at first in 
the churches, later in the town halls. At these meetings 
the voters passed laws, elected officers, and laid taxes. 
The pastor was generally the leading man in the town 
meeting. Thus originated the New England township 
with its very large powers of local government. 

3. The Township in the South. — In the South agricul- 
ture on an extensive scale was the main industry. The 
cultivation of tobacco, rice, indigo, and other staples, 
and the employment of slaves in the work, tended to 
make the plantations large. The people lived widely 
scattered, and the towns were few and at great distances 
apart. The narrowest local organization was the parish. 
Its members, who were originally elected by the church, 
but afterwards by tlie vestry itself, had charge of the 
church government and the care of the poor, and laid a 
tax for these purposes. The parish in the South was the 
original parish of England, being chiefly a local church 
government. The local civil government was exercised 
by the county. After church and state were separated 
the voting precinct became the smallest unit of local 
government. It is a mere geographical division made 
for the convenience of voters. 

4. The Township in the Middle States. — In the Middle 
States the original population was more mixed in 
nationality and religion than either that of New England 
or of the South. The township here has neither the large 
degree of local power found in New England nor the 
limited degree found in the South. The settlers of 
Pennsylvania especially were of various nationalities. 
The Dutch, the Swedes, the English, the Germans, the 
Welsh, the Swiss, the French, the Scotch-Irish, all con- 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 19 

tributed to the formation of local government. Penn 
had the right in his charter to divide his province into 
"towns, hundreds, and counties, and to erect and in- 
corporate towns into boroughs, and boroughs into cities;" 
also, "to erect any parcels of land into manors." The 
township is not mentioned in this list of political units for 
local government. Instead, the hundred is named as a 
division after the county. The hundred in England was 
a military and fiscal division of the coimty. In ancient 
Germany it was probably a district that was required to 
furnish a hundred warriors. The hundred was likewise 
introduced in Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. It 
still exists in Delaware. Maryland had also a number of 
manors. 

5. The Origin of the County.— As the clan became the 
town when the Anglo-Saxon ceased to migrate, so the 
tribe became the shire (called county in England after the 
Norman Conquest). The shire had its mote (meeting) 
to which selected men from each township were sent as 
representatives, together with a number of delegates 
from the hundreds. Boroughs and cities were allowed, 
separate representatives, called burghers. The shire 
mote was both legislative and judicial. In its judicial 
capacity it finally became the county court, with its 
quarter sessions, its coroner, sheriff, and justices of the 
peace; but most of its legislative functions were absorbed 
by the Parliament of the kingdom. 

6. The County in New England. — In England the 
shires are older than the kingdom. In New England th^ 
States are older than the counties. The coimty of New 
England originated by the division of the colony into 
districts in which courts should be held quarterly. But 



20 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

as such ample powers of local government are given to the 
township the county is chiefly a judicial and military dis- 
trict of the State. It was not even the unit of represen- 
tation in the legislature until the middle of the nineteenth 
century. And in Connecticut to-day the town is the 
unit of representation in the lower branch. 

7. The County in the South. — The conditions in the 
South made the county the chief organ of local govern- 
ment; but it was not so populous as in New England, 
consisting in a few instances of a single parish. The 
county administered justice by means of a court that met 
about once a month in some court house, erected at a 
convenient place and named after the county, as, 
Hanover Court House, Virginia. " Court day" was a 
holiday for all classes of people. Though they had no 
voice in the public business transacted, yet "court day" 
furnished an occasion like that of the New England 
town meeting, for it brought the people of the whole 
county together for the discussion of public questions. 
Roads and bridges were built and repaired by the county; 
in fact nearly all local affairs excepting those pertain- 
ing to the church were managed by county officers, most 
of whom were either appointed by the governor or 
perpetuated their rule by the method of close corpora- 
tions. The county, too, was the unit of representation in 
the legislature. These facts explain why at the present 
day the county in the South is the medium for the trans- 
action of nearty all public business. 

8. The County in the Middle States.— In the Middle 
States, outside of Pennsylvania, the county of colonial 
times 13 more difficult to define. , In Maryland and 
Delaware the hundred played an important part in local 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 21 

government; and the county government was ad- 
ministered mostly by certain officers of the hundreds. 
New York, while under the Dutch, had its village as- 
semblies, which resembled the town meetings of New 
England. The county was a representative government, 
consisting of supervisors elected by the townships. In 
Pennsylvania the county existed before the township, 
and in the earlier history of the province it exercised 
most of the functions of local government. The officers of 
the county were elected by the people, and when town- 
ships were erected the people likewise elected the officers. 

9. The Origin of the States. — The States of the United 
States had their origin in thirteen English colonies in 
America. A colony is a body of people migrating from 
their native country and making a settlement in a land 
beyond the boimdaries of the parent state, but remaining 
more or less dependent upon the native state. A colony 
is perpetuated by the descendants of such settlers and 
later comers. The government is formed by authority 
of the home Government. 

In the case of the English colonies in America the 
authority to establish them was given by means of 
charters which served as constitutions. In these charters 
the King of England agreed with the settlers that they 
and all their descendants born in the colonies should 
enjoy the rights of Englishmen at home. 

10. The Government of the Colonies. — There were in 
the colonies three varieties of government: (a) The 
charter government, through which the Crown gave 
the colonists power to organize a government, elect the 
governor, and hold him responsible for his acts; (6) the 
proprietary government, by which the Crown granted a 



22 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

tract of land to one or more individuals, called the 
proprietary, and empowered him or them to establish 
the government, appoint the governor, and instruct him 
how to rule; and (c) the royal government, established 
by the Crown, which appointed the governor and 
instructed him how to rule. None of the colonies was 
originally royal. At the time of the Revolution the 
charter colonies were Rhode Island and Connecticut; 
the proprietary, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; 
the royal, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, 
New Jersey, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and 
Georgia. All the colonies had a legislature composed of 
two branches, except Pennsylvania and Georgia, which 
had a single-chambered legislature. The upper house 
was the council, which was advisor)^ to the governor, as 
well as legislative and judicial. Its members in the 
royal colonies were usually appointed by the king; in 
the proprietary, by the proprietor. The lower house was 
composed of representatives chosen by the people; but 
the suffrage was very much restricted. Ownership of 
land, the payment of specified taxes, and religious beliefs 
of various sorts, were qualifications required of voters in 
colonial days. In Connecticut, in 1775, there were but 
4,325 voters among 200,000 people. 

A bill passed by the representatives had to pass the 
council and be approved by the governor before it became 
a law. Even then, in most colonies, it had to be sub- 
mitted to the Crown within a period of three or five years. 
If annulled by the Crown it would not remain in force. 

The judiciary was quite out of the reach of the legis- 
latures. The judges were appointed by the governors, 
except in Connecticut and Rhode Island (where they were 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 23 

elected by the legislature), and held office during good 
behavior. 

ii. Formation of State Governments. — When, after the 
Revolutionary War had begun, there was no further hope 
that the king would.redress the grievances of the colonics, 
Congress, May 15, 1776, recommended the formation of 
State governments. This was done, as a rule, by a body 
of men in each colony, known as the Provincial Con- 
vention, or Provincial Congress, which, in 1775, had 
taken upon itself all the powers of government. It was 
composed of delegates elected by the people, in the same 
way as they had formerly elected their representatives 
in the legislature. In Connecticut and Rhode Island 
about the only thing required for the transition from 
colony to State was to strike out in the charter the words 
"king" and "colony" and insert the name of the State. 
These States used their old democratic charters as con- 
stitutions until 1818 and 1842 respectively. Thus, for 
the first time in the history of the world, the people, 
through their representatives, drew up constitutions that 
derived their authority from the consent of the governed. 

12. The Origin of the Union. — Very early in the history 
of the colonies acts of partial union existed among some 
of them. Pennsylvania and Delaware had an agree- 
ment whereby the sheriffs of each province could pursue 
a hue and cry for a certain distance across the line. 
Virginia and North Carolina had laws governing the in- 
tercourse of their inhabitants, and so had others. Indian 
attacks brought about the first league. In 1643 
Massachusetts, Plymouth, Hartford, and New Haven 
formed the New England Confederacy. Its delegates — 
two from each colony — met annually, twice in sue- 



24 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

cession at Boston, then at Hartford, New Haven, and 
Plymouth respectively, rotating among the four colonies 
once in every five years. This confederacy was dissolved 
in 1684. 

The next danger that brought the colonies into some 
sort of union came from the French alliance with the 
Indians. From the meeting in Albany, in 1684, of com- 
missioners from Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, 
and Virginia, to the Albany congress, in 1754, of delegates 
from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, there 
were ten such intercolonial conferences. After the 
settlement of Pennsylvania, which made the colonies 
continuous from the French possessions on the North to 
the Spanish possessions on the South, the possibilities of 
united effort for any purpose were very much greater. 
So in 1754, at the Albany congress, Benjamin Franklin 
proposed a permanent union to regulate Indian affairs, 
to make frontier settlements, and protect and defend 
the colonists. His scheme provided for a "President 
General" to be appointed by the Crown, and a "Grand 
Council" to be elected by the colonial legislatures. The 
plan was submitted to the colonies, but none voted to 
accept it; nor did England approve it. 

Eleven years later, when the Stamp Act Congress met, 
the need of union was felt more strongly than ever. 
Nine colonies were represented by twenty-eight delegates, 
and all the others were in sympathy with the movement. 
It was the first Revolutionary congress. Petitions to the 
English Government and a declaration of rights were 
drawn up. Advanced ground on the way to union was 
taken by a member from South Carolina when he said: 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 25 

" There ought to be no New England man, no New Yorker, 
known on the Continent; but all of us Americans." From 
1765 to 1774 the habit of concerted action against the 
oppressive measures of Great Britain was very much 
strengthened by a system of correspondence. The cir- 
cular letters that passed from colony to colony in those 
years aided greatly in bringing about the first Continen- 
tal Congress from which the United States of to-day 
can trace an unbroken line of descent. 



CHAPTER III 

THE FORMATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED 
STATES GOVERNMENT 

i. The First Continental Congress.-— The Continental 
Congress, which met in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, 
September 4, 1774, may be said to have laid the corner 
stone for the structure of the United States Government. 
That Congress spoke in the name of "the good people of 
these colonies" — the first assertion of national unity 
made in the United States. It was revolutionary, be- 
cause the delegates were chosen as a rule without legal 
authority — the governors dissolving the legislatures 
whenever these made a move to elect delegates. It 
exercised diplomatic and executive powers in the peti- 
tions and addresses drawn up. The only legislative act 
were the Articles of Association — a pledgfe not to import 
goods from England or her colonies — and the recom- 
mendation to the colonies that they pass laws to carry 
out the pledge. 

2. The Second Continental Congress. — The first Con- 
tinental Congress had passed a resolution that if no 
redress of grievances should be obtained a second 
congress should meet in May, 1775. Accordingly the 
second Continental Congress met in the State House, 
Philadelphia, on the 10th of that month. The Revolu- 
tion having now become a fact steps were taken to carry 
on the war. An army and a navy were organized for 

. . 26 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 27 



united resistance; foreign relations and Indian affairs 
were assumed ; colonial ports were thrown open to all 
nations; a Continental loan and currency were authorized; 
and other sovereign 
powers were exer- 
cised that formerly 
belonged to the 
mother country 
alone. 

3. The Declaration 
of Independence. — 
So strong was the 
attachment for the 
mother country that 
what had been done 
by the "United Col- 
onies" up to that 
time would have 
been undone, had 
Great Britain re- 
dressed their griev- 
ances. All the sover- 
eign powers already 
assumed would have 
been laid at her feet. 

There was no general desire for independence before 
the King, in October, 1775, issued a proclamation de- 
nouncing the colonists as rebels, instead of giving ear 
to their second and last petition, as they had hoped he 
would do. All hesitation about independence was now 
at an end. Recommendations were made by Congress 
for the formation of State governments." On May 15, 




INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA 



28 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

J 776, Congress voted "That it is necessary that the exer- 
cise of every kind of authority under the Crown of Great 
Britain should be totally suppressed." The colonies one 
after another then instructed their delegates to vote for 
independence. On June 7th Richard Henry Lee offered 
the resolution "That these United Colonies are, and of 
right ought to be, free and independent States," etc. 
This resolution was before Congress until July 2d, when 
it was adopted. Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of In- 
dependence, in which are set forth the reasons for Lee's 
resolution, was passed on the 4th of July, which day, 
and not the 2d, was destined to become " the most mem- 
orable epoch in the history of America." 

4. The United States Under the Continental Congress. ■— 
At the same time that Jefferson's committee was ap- 
pointed to draw up the Declaration of Independence 
another one was appointed to prepare a form of govern- 
ment. On the 12th of July, 1776, this committee, 
through its chairman, John Dickison, of Pennsylvania, 
reported the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual 
Union. The confederacy was styled "The United 
States of America." In framing the articles for a 
"Perpetual Union" all the previous experiments, from 
the New England Confederacy down to the Continental 
Congress, were studied. The colonial governments, the 
government of Great Britain, and the ancient and 
modern confederacies, likewise served as examples to 
imitate and avoid. A year and five months w r ere spent 
before Congress finally adopted a draft of the Articles, 
November 15, 1777; and nearly three years and a half 
more elapsed before Maryland, the last State,, ratified the 
instrument of government March 1, 1781. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE V NIT ED STATES 29 

In the meantime the government of the United States 
was vested in the Continental Congress and carried on in 
accordance with the plan of its organization, which in 
many respects was like the government outlined in the 
Articles of Confederation. 

5. The United States Under the Articles of Confedera- 
tion. — The Congress of the Confederation, like the 
Continental Congress, consisted of but one house, whose 
president was simply the presiding officer. The mem- 
bers — not less than two, nor more than seven from each 
State — were elected by the legislatures for a year, but 
could be recalled at any time to give place to others; 
and no member could serve more than three years in any 
term of six years. The voting was by States. Measures 
of great importance required the consent of all the States 
— those of less importance, of seven States. Amend- 
ments, after passing the Congress, had to be ratified by 
the legislatures of all the States. 

Congress had power to declare war, make peace, issue 
bills of credit, borrow money, maintain an army and a 
navy, make treaties, coin money, and fix the standard 
of weights and measures. But it could not lay and col- 
lect taxes, raise troops, or carry out a single act that it 
might pass. It had no executive power to enforce its 
laws or judiciary to interpret them. It had but two 
judicial powers — to settle territorial disputes between 
States (exercised on one occasion between Pennsylvania 
and Connecticut) and to hear appeals in prize cases. 
The Congress acted on States and not on individuals. 
The laws of the confederacy were not commands, but 
recommendations. 

6. The United States Independent. — By the treaty of 



30 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

peace made by France, England, and the United States, 
in 1783, the independence of the United States was 
acknowledged. The government evolved in the course 
of the Revolution was now established; for it was no 
longer in danger of being overthrown by failure of the 
war. 



CHAPTER IV 

A MORE PERFECT UNION FORMED 

1. Fatal Defects in the Articles of Confederation. — No 

government can endure without the power of raising 
taxes to support it and the power of raising armies to 
defend it; but these powers were lacking in the Articles 
of Confederation. As long as the war lasted the States 
honored the requisitions of Congress; but after that 
danger had passed they were very indifferent. 

2. Bankruptcy Threatened. — The amount of money 
asked of the States from 1781 to 1788 was about 
$16,000,000. The returns were only about $500,000 a 
year — barely enough to pay the running expenses, to 
say nothing of the payment of interest. Congress, 
therefore, could not hope to borrow any more money, and 
the Government was on the brink of bankruptcy by 1787. 

3. The Government Not Respected. — Lacking the 

power to support and defend itself, the Government 

was not regarded at home or abroad as sovereign. The 

States acted as independent nations. Being themselves 

on the verge of financial ruin, they laid duties on imports 

from other States and from foreign countries; but a lack 

of uniformity gave a monopoly of commerce to the States 

having the lowest duties. The gold and silver having all 

been sent abroad to pay interest and import duties the 

States issued immense amounts of paper money, and 

Congress could not restrain them. The paper money 

31 



32 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE V NIT ED STATES 

depreciated. Debts could not be collected. Sheriffs' 
sales were daily occurrences. Lawlessness followed, and 
in some places, notably in Massachusetts, open rebellion 
against the State authorities broke out. Knowledge of 
these difficulties could not be kept from foreign nations — 
especially England. They expected the Confederation 
to go to pieces. They refused to make commercial 
treaties or to send diplomatic agents to represent them 
in the United States. To restore confidence abroad 
Congress #sked the States three times to amend the 
Articles so as to give the Confederation power to regulate 
trade and commerce. Each time the amendment was 
defeated by a vote of twelve States to one. 

4. The Trade Convention. — Early in 1786 a member of 
Congress declared that "Congress must be vested with 
more powers, or the Federal Government must fall." 
The idea that the form of Federal Government needed 
radical amendment now became general. At this critical 
juncture Virginia, which had the year before been in 
negotiation with Maryland for the regulation of trade on 
the Potomac River, invited all the States to send dele- 
gates to a trade convention at Annapolis, in September, 
1786. 

As only Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 
and New York were represented at Annapolis it was rec- 
ommended to all the States that a convention meet in 
Philadelphia, in May, 1787, for the purpose of " rendering 
the Constitution of the Federal Government adequate." 
Congress approved the convention, and all the States, 
except Rhode Island, elected delegates. 

5. The Constitutional Convention. — On May 25th a 
quorum of the sixty-five delegates elected assembled in 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 33 

the State House in Philadelphia. George Washington 
was chosen President. Most of the members were men 
of Revolutionary fame. Franklin, now eighty-one years 
old, was the Nestor of the convention. Madison made 
more suggestions and speeches than any other member, 
and, as the author of the plan that was finally adopted, 
was unquestionably the leader on the floor. Hamilton 
was also a member, but because his colleagues left in 
disgust before the convention was over he had less 
influence than his ability merited. Moreover, he wanted 
to do away with the State boundaries and create a cen- 
tralized republic. Gouverneur Morris, as chairman of 
the Committee on Arrangement, is to be credited with 
the clear and simple language of the Constitution. James 
Wilson was the best-read lawyer on the floor. Whatever 
of Blackstone was brought before the convention was 
always submitted to Wilson. 

The convention lasted until September 17, 1787. 
The sessions were secret; all votes were cast by States. 
A journal was kept, but it was a mere outline of the pro- 
ceedings. Madison kept a private journal of much 
greater value. It was not published until 1839— three 
years after his death. 

Two plans w^ere presented for the formation of a new 
government — the Virginia plan, drawn by Madison, and 
the New Jersey plan, drawn by Patterson. The Virginia 
plan provided that the Federal Government should have 
supreme executive, legislative, and judicial powers, and 
that representation in both houses of the Congress 
should be based on the population or the wealth of a 
State. This plan was favored by the large States. The 
New Jersey plan favored a revision of the Articles of 



34 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Confederation, so as to give Congress the power to 
regulate commerce, raise revenue, and coerce the States. 
It also provided for equal representation in Congress. 
The small States favored the New Jersey plan. The 
difference was compromised by adopting the basis of 
representation in vogue in the State of Connecticut, 
namely, popular representation hi the lower house and 
equal representation in the upper. 

The next difficulty caused a division of the States into 
free and slave. The free States wanted representation 
in the House of Representatives based on the number of 
free people; the slave States, on the number of free and 
slave. This difference was compromised by representing 
slaves as "other persons/ ; five of whom should be equal 
to three free persons, both in the matter of representation 
and in the apportionment of direct taxes. 

The third great difficulty which caused a division 
among the States was commercial and agricultural. 
New England, New York, and Maryland wanted ques- 
tions of commerce decided by a majority vote; the agri- 
cultural States, by a two-thirds vote. The compromise 
effected was that a mere majority should decide com- 
mercial questions, but that exports should not be taxed, 
and that the importation of slaves should not be prohib- 
ited prior to 1808. 

These three great compromises having been accepted 
there was no further danger of the dissolution of the 
convention. While the thirty-nine members who were 
still in attendance at the close were signing their names, 
Franklin looking toward Washington's chair, on the 
back of which was cut a sun, said to those around him: 
" I have often and often, in the course of the session, and 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 35 

in the solicitude of my hopes and fears as to its issue, 
looked at that figure behind the President without know- 
ing whether it was the rising or the setting sun. Now I 
know it is the rising sun." 

6. The Ratification. — On September 28th Congress 
submitted the Constitution to the States for ratification, 
which had to be made by conventions of the people in 
nine States before it could go into effect. The smaller 
States, together with Pennsylvania, ratified it first. In 
the States of Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and 
North Carolina the ratification was for months uncertain, 
and was only accomplished by very small majorities. 
North Carolina did not ratify it until after Washington 
had been President six months or more. Rhode Island, 
which w T as a commercial State and profited greatly by 
not being subject to the Federal impost, came into the 
Union a year and three months after the Constitution had 
gone into effect — and then only after a threat had been 
made by Congress that it would be treated as a foreign 
country. The Union of the thirteen States was then 
complete. The United States under the Constitution 
became a nation — that is, sovereign in all powers neces- 
sary for its perpetuity. 

7. The Relation of the States to the United States. — 
The States are not related to the United States as the 
township and county are to the State. The State gov- 
ernment is not the United States Government localized. 
The United States cannot make laws for the States, as 
the State can for township and county. The States are 
independent of the United States in all civil powers 
consistent with a republican form of government, except 
such powers as have been delegated to the United States 



36 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

by the Constitution, or are prohibited by the Constitu- 
tion to the States. The powers of the States are far 
more numerous than the powers of the United States. 

The people and their property are subject to a double 
government — that of the State and that of the United 
States. The two governments operate together with 
perfect harmony, whether their jurisdictions cross or are 
parallel. Of course we come into contact with the State 
government vastly more than with the Federal Govern- 
ment; for the powers of the former are far more numerous 
than those of the latter. The daily affairs of most of us, 
except our business with the post office, are subject to 
State laws. But in case we come under the operation of 
a United States law we are likewise bound to comply 
with its demands. Both governments have the power 
to tax us for their support and to call on us for their 
defense. Under the Articles of Confederation the States 
alone had such power over the individual and his 
property. 



■CHAPTER V 

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

TO THE TEACHER 

In leading a class through the following chapter, please observe 
that the " Questions on the Sections" call for a close and analytic 
reading and study of the text of the Constitution. The author, in- 
stead of incorporating in his discussions of things needing explana- 
tion, the plain and simple statements of the Constitution, intends 
that such parts should be learned by the pupils from the Constitution 
itself. He believes it is better for the pupils to learn, for instance, so 
simple a matter as the qualifications of a Senator, directly in the 
Constitution, than in paragraphs written by himself. It is of little 
use to have the clauses of the Constitution before the eyes of the 
pupils, in the body of the author's text, if they are not read and 
studied. 

The teacher should therefore insist on a thorough study of each 
set of " Questions on the Sections." The pupils will thereby acquire 
a much-needed intimate knowledge of the Constitution itself and 
form a habit of thoughtful, analytic reading that will be of value to 
them in other fields of study. 

THE PREAMBLE 

"We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide 
for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of America." 

i. What it Shows. — The Preamble shows that the 

government under the Constitution, unlike that under 

the Articles of Confederation, was to be a union of the 

37 



38 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

people, not a league of the States; The Constitution 
clothes the United States Government with power to 
act directly upon the people without regard to State lines 
and without acting on the States. 

2. An Enumeration of General Purposes. — The Pre- 
amble enumerates the general purposes of the Constitu- 
tion. After the close of the Revolution the Articles of 
Confederation had failed to accomplish these purposes 
(see p. 31) ; and it was therefore natural that they should 
be enumerated in the Preamble, as a reason for the 
establishment of the Constitution. These general pur- 
poses have been of great importance to the courts in 
interpreting the Constitution; and the whole Preamble 
has been a great battle-ground for political parties in the 
United States. 

3. The Term " Constitution." — As used in America the 
term "Constitution" implies a written instrument of 
government. That of the United States consists of seven 
articles and fifteen amendments, divided into sections 
and clauses. England has an unwritten Constitution. 
It does not consist of a single document drawn up at 
one time; it is the growth of centuries, and consists of 
charters, bills of rights, acts of Parliament, and legal 
usages and customs. The United States had to have a 
written Constitution, because the old-world forms and 
principles of government had been abandoned by our 
fathers and the new nation was too large and complex 
to wait for time to develop an unwritten Constitution. 
The United States continued without a written Constitu- 
tion until the Articles of Confederation were adopted 
in 1781. 

A constitution deals with what is general and perma- 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 39 

nent, and leaves details and transitory matters to the 
legislative department. The subject-matter of the Con- 
stitution of the United States may be divided into: 

(a) Forms — e. g., the two houses of Congress (Art. 1, 
Sect. 1). 

(6) Powers — e.g., to lay and collect taxes (Art. 1, 
Sect. 8, CI. 1). 

(c) Principles — e. g., freedom of speech (Amendment 1). 

(d) Definitions — e.g., treason (Art. 1, Sect. 3, CI. 1). 

Questions on the Preamble. — Who ordained and established the 
Constitution ? Its purposes ? Define ordain. What is domestic 
tranquillity ? 

THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS 

4. The Three Powers of Government. — We cannot con- 
ceive of government — civil or any other — without these 
three powers: to make laws, to carry them out, and to 
explain and apply them. In the school all three are gen- 
erally vested in the teacher; in the family, in the parents; 
in an absolute monarchy (see p. 12), in the monarch. 

5. The Three Departments of Government. — In a 
government where the three powers are not vested in one 
or the same persons, departments are created for the 
separate exercise of these powers bj^ different persons. 
The Constitution vests all legislative powers in Congress; 
the executive power in the President; and the judicial 
power in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts 
as Congress may establish. Under the Articles of Con- 
federation there was no such division of power. The 
Congress, besides being legislative, also exercised what 
little executive and judicial power the United States 
Government had. 



40 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

ARTICLE I.— THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

Section 1. — The Congress 

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress 
of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

6. The Two Houses. — The Congress, under the Articles 
of Confederation, was not divided into two houses; nor 
were the Legislatures of Vermont, Pennsylvania, and 
Georgia under their first State constitutions. Now the 
bicameral plan is universal. The object of the two 
houses is to prevent haste and lack of consideration. 
In making the Constitution much thought was given to 
checks and balances among the various factors of the 
government. Here we have the House of Representa- 
tives balanced against the Senate, and vice versa. At 
another place we find the President balanced, in some 
degree, against Congress. In all there are about eight 
such inventions in the Constitution. 

Questions on the Section. — What is the name of the legislative 
department ? What are its divisions called ? What legislative 
powers are vested in Congress ? 

Section 2. — The House of Representatives 

Clause 1 . The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of the several 
States, and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State 
Legislature. 

Cl. 2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have 
attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a 
citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be 
an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 41 

Cl. 3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned 
among the several States which may be included within this Union 
according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined 
by [adding to] the whole number of [free] persons, [including those 
bound to service for a term of years, and] excluding Indians not 
taxed [three-fifths of all other persons]. The actual enumeration 
shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term 
of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law 'direct. The 




CHAMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE CAPITOL AT 

WASHINGTON 



number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty 
thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative : and 
until such enumeration shall be made the State of New Hampshire 
shall be entitled to choose three; Massachusetts, eight; Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantations, one; Connecticut, five; New York, six; 
New Jersey, four; Pennsylvania, eight; Delaware, one; Maryland, 
six; Virginia, ten; North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five; and 
Georgia, three. 
Cl. 4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any 



42 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

State the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to 
fill such vacancies. 

Cl. 5. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker 
and other officers ; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

7. The Nature of the House of Representatives. — The 
members of the House of Representatives are elected 
directly by -the people; that is, each voter casts his ballot 
for the person he desires to have chosen. This branch 
of Congress represents the will of the people directly 
expressed, and is, therefore, directly responsible to them. 
It is often spoken of as the " popular " branch of Congress. 
The term of office was made comparatively short in order 
that the political opinions of the people may be fre- 
quently expressed. A member who performs his duties 
conscientiously and intelligently should be reelected, 
because it requires at least one term to learn the rules 
well enough to take'a prominent part in legislation. The 
House of Representatives has no executive function 
unless it be to appropriate the money necessary to carry 
out treaties in some cases. It has a judicial function in 
the power of impeachment. 

8. Who May Vote for Representatives. — There are 
only two classes of United States officials elected by the 
people : members of the House of Representatives and 
(as will be seen farther on) members of the Electoral 
College. When the Constitution was made religious 
and property qualifications were variously required of an 
elector (voter) by the States. So diversified were these 
qualifications that if the Constitutional Convention had 
fixed upon some common test to be applied to all the 
United States, great dissatisfaction would have been 
caused. Therefore, it was left to the States to decide 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 43 

who should vote for the Representatives in Congress. 

Any elector to whom the State has given the right to 
vote for a member of the most numerous branch (House 
of Representatives) of the Legislature is entitled to vote 
in that State at a Congressional election. The reason 
for this provision, at the time it was made, was that then 
many men who could not vote for a Senator could vote 
for a Representative in a State legislature, owing to a 
difference in the qualifications as to age and wealth. 
That fact then made the lower House of Congress more 
truly representative of the people. Now no such differ- 
ences in the qualifications of electors exist. The same 
persons that vote for a Representative also vote for a 
Senator of the State legislatures. In Idaho, Utah/ 
Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, and California women 
may vote for Representatives. 

9. The Residence of a Representative. — A Representa- 
tive may live in any part of a State, though custom has 
decreed that he must be a resident of the district which 
he represents. In Great Britain candidates for the 
House of Commons often stand for election outside of 
the district in which they live. 

10. The Federal Ratio. — The words "three-fifths of all 
other persons " are known as "the Federal ratio," and 
they constitute the second great compromise made in 
the Constitutional Convention (see p. 34). The phrase 
"all other persons " was used to avoid the word slave , 
which is not found in the Constitution outside of the 
Thirteenth Amendment. 

11. Parts Void and Dead. — That part of Clause 3 pro- 
viding for representation by the three-fifths rule, and also 
the word "free " have been made void by the Thirteenth 



44 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Amendment. The part relating to the laying of direct 
taxes was left standing, but it is void along with the 
other. Clause 3 in conjunction with the Thirteenth 
Amendment now omits the parts enclosed by brackets. 
The part providing for the number of Representatives 
to be elected by each State until the first census should 
be taken is dead. The total number was sixty-five. 
The largest possible number in the Continental Congress 
had been ninety-one. There were now to be twenty- 
six Senators. Subtracting twenty-six from ninety-one 
the framers of the Constitution took the remainder to 
constitute the total number of members in the House 
of Representatives until a census should be taken. 

12. Direct Taxes. — A direct tax is not defined in the 
Constitution; but the Supreme Court has decided that 
the term must be applied to a poll or capitation tax and 
to a tax on real or personal estate or the income there- 
from. No poll tax was ever laid by Congress; but other 
direct taxes have been laid on three occasions — in 1798, 
when war with France was imminent, in the war of 1812, 
and in the Civil War. In laying a direct tax Congress 
fixes the amount to be raised, divides it by the popula- 
tion of the United States, and multiplies the quotient by 
the population of each State. The result is the amount 
each State must pay. 

13. Apportionment of Representatives.— In the earlier 
apportionments Congress used to decide first upon the 
number of people that a member should represent. 
After the first census the number was made 33,000. 
Now the first and most important thing to be decided 
on is the number of Representatives. The entire pop- 
ulation of the States, according to the last census, is 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 45 

divided by this number when it has been determined; 
the quotient obtained is the ratio of representation. The 
population of each of the States entitled to more than 
one Representative is then divided by this ratio of repre- 
sentation. The quotients will be the number of members 
these States will have respectively, except that each 
State having more than half a ratio unrepresented gets 
an additional member. By the apportionment based 
on the census of 1910 the ratio of representation is 
211,877. The number of Representatives is 435. The 
House has been made larger, for some years, with every 
apportionment, in order not to diminish the representa- 
tion in the States that showed no increase in population 
and yet give increased representation to those that had 
become more populous. 

14. Congressional Districts. — The Constitution says 
that Representatives shall be elected by the people of the 
several States. Until 1842 some States elected their 
Representatives by districts, others at large. Since then 
Congress has required them to be elected by districts. 
The districts are made by the State legislatures, usually 
at the session following a new Congressional apportion- 
ment; they must be made up of contiguous territory, 
and contain, as nearly as possible, a population cor- 
responding to the ratio of representation. 

To gain party advantage the districts are sometimes 
made with much unfairness. The party in control of the 
Legislature at the time the districts are made maps out 
the State in such a way that as few districts as possible 
will be of the opposite political complexion. As a 
consequence some very oddly shaped ' districts are 
made. This method of districting a State is called 



46 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

" gerrymandering.' ' Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, 
at one time contrived a scheme by which one of the 
districts looked like a lizard. The celebrated painter, 
Gilbert Stuart, seeing a map of Gerry's districts in the 
office of an editor, added a head, wings, and claws to the 
peculiar district and exclaimed: "That will do for a 
salamander." "Call it a Gerrymander/ 7 said the editor, 
and the name has been in use ever since. The first 
attempt at this sort of political trickery was made by 
Patrick Henry, who tried in this way to keep Madison 
out of the first Congress. 

It sometimes happens that a State does not rearrange 
its districts immediately after its number of Represen- 
tatives is increased by Congress. Until the Legislature 
attends to the matter the additional member or members 
are then elected by the State at large. Chosen in this 
way a Representative is known as a Congressman-at-large. 

15. The Speaker. — The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives is one of its own members, and there- 
fore may vote on all questions, but the rules do not 
require him to vote, except in case of a tie or when a 
vote is by ballot. He is the third officer of the Govern- 
ment in point of rank; but the second in point of power, 
because through his decisions and applications of the 
rules he determines, to an extent, the character of the 
laws to be passed. Furthermore, when a member 
wishes to speak or make a motion he must first be rec- 
ognized by the Speaker, and when two or more rise 
at once he names the one that is to have the floor. 

16. Other Officers. — The other officers are not mem- 
bers of the House. The Chief Clerk is in charge 
of the records. His term does not expire until after 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 47 

the new House has been organized, for he makes up its 
roll and presides at its opening until the Speaker has 
been elected. In a few instances the Chief Clerk has 
presided for six or eight weeks before the House could 
agree on the election of a Speaker. Other officers of 
importance are the Sergeant-at-arms, the Doorkeeper, 
the Postmaster, and the Chaplain. 

17. Impeachment. — The power of impeachment is 
judicial in its nature. By this power the House may 
resolve that an officer shall be impeached for specified 
offenses, and bring the charges, or articles of impeach- 
ment, before the Senate. These articles are like an in- 
dictment in a criminal court. 

Questions on the Section.— The term of a Representative? 
Age? How long a citizen? How long in this country? Where 
must he live? Why not have merely the age of a voter? Why 
require him to be a citzen for a number of years? Wiry an inhabitant 
of the State? How is the number of people on which Represen- 
tatives and direct taxes are based determined in each State? When 
had the census to be taken first? How often must it be taken? 
When is it taken? How many Representatives would the House 
have now if there were one for every 30,000 people? Which States 
have but one Representative? Find out, also, whether any States 
have the same number now that they had in the first Congress. 
How are vacancies in the House filled? Which two States had the 
most Representatives in 1789? Which two have the most now? 

Section 3.— The Senate 

Clause 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed 
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, 
for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

Cl. 2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence 
of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into 
three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be 
vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at 
the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the ex- 



48 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

piration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every 
second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, 
during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the executive 
thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

Cl. 3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State for which he shall be chosen. 

Cl. 4. The Vice President of the United States shall be President 
of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

Cl. 5. The Senate shall choose their officers, and also a President 
pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall 
exercise the office of President of the United States. 

Cl. 6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeach- 
ments. When sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or 
affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried the 
Chief Justice shall preside: and no person shall be convicted without 
the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Cl. 7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further 
than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy 
any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the 
party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indict- 
ment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

1 8. Nature of the Senate. — The Senate is the Federal 
branch of Congress. Its members represent the States, 
but are not subject to instruction as to their votes by 
any State authority, not even by the Legislature, which 
elects them. Every Senator may and should vote as 
his judgment and conscience dictate. The framers of 
the Constitution intended the Senate to be an exalted 
body, and therefore made the term of office long and the 
age limit high. 

19. Voting in the Senate. — The first clause of this 
section is a part of the first great compromise in the 
Constitution (see p. 34). When equality of representa- 
tion in the Senate had been decided upon by that 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 49 

compromise the next question was, How many Senators, 
shall a State have? Two, the number agreed upon, was 
the smallest number of Representatives a State was 
entitled to under the Articles of Confederation. Each 
Senator having one vote there can be no tie resulting in 
the loss of the vote of a State, as was so often the case < 
in the Continental Congress. 




THE SENATE CHAMBER IN THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON 



20. The Senate a Continuous Body. — Two-thirds of 
the Senators having respectively two or four more years 
to serve at the end of every two years the Senate is 
continuous; that is, as a body it never expires. This 
provision prevents the Senate from being entirely new 
and inexperienced, as it is possible for the House to be. 

21. Failure of the Legislature to Elect. — In case the 



50 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Legislature fails to fill a vacancy in the course of a meet- 
ing, the Governor cannot fill it by appointment after- 
wards. 

22. The Vice-President and the Senate. — If the Vice- 
President had a vote in the Senate, as the Speaker has 
in the House, the State to which he belongs would have 
three votes, which would destroy the equality of repre- 
sentation. He does not, nor does the Speaker of the 
House, appoint the standing committees. They are 
selected in both Houses in such a way as to give the 
members a voice in the selection. 

23. Other Officers and the President Pro Tempore. — 
The other officers of the Senate are practically the same 
as those of the House (see p. 46). In the absence of the 
Vice-President — and he generally absents himself for 
this purpose at the beginning of his term — the Secretary 
of the Senate takes the chair while an election of a 
President pro tempore is held. He serves for an indefinite 
time, generally until his term expires, unless his party 
is reduced to a minority in the meantime. By providing 
for this officer of the Senate the Constitution makes it 
possible for the Vice-President to evade the performance 
of the only duty assigned to him. 

24. The Trial of Impeachments. — When the House of 
Representatives agrees upon articles of impeachment 
(see p. 47) it appoints a committee of managers from 
among its own members to prosecute the case before the 
Senate. Both the committee and the accused may 
employ attorneys, and both sides may have witnesses. 
The Senate is both judge and jury; otherwise the trial 
is conducted in the same way as before an ordinary 
court. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 51 

25. Penalty in Case of Conviction. — Since judgment, 
in case of conviction, shall not extend beyond removal 
from office and disqualification for office it would appear 
that the Senate may or may not punish to that extent. 
But by Article II, Section 4, the penalty must be removal 
at least. The Senate cannot mitigate that penalty; 
but it may or may not add the further penalty of dis- 
qualification to hold office under the United States. 
The Senate cannot punish by imprisonment or fine; but ' 
the convicted officer may be tried in the courts and 
made to suffer whatever penalty the law provides for 
his crime. \ 

26. Cases of Impeachment and Conviction. — There 
have been eight cases of impeachment brought before 
the Senate by the House of Representatives: one, that 
of a United States Senator, was not tried by the Senate 
for want of jurisdiction, it being held that Senators and 
Representatives are not "civil officers" (seep. 96); five 
resulted in acquittal, the most noted of which being 
that of President Johnson; and two resulted in con- 
viction, the penalty in one case being simply removal 
from office, in the other both removal from, and dis- 
qualification for, office. 

Questions on the Section. — How many Senators are there now? 
Who elects Senators? How many votes has a State in the Senate? 
What classification of Senators was made in the first Congress? 
What was it for? How are vacancies filled? The qualifications of a 
Senator? What officer is President of the Senate? When may he 
vote? What provision is made for his absence? What officer 
presides in case the President is on trial before the Senate? What 
pledge must the Senators give for the performance of their duty 
when they try an impeachment case? How many votes are necessary 
to convict? What does " according to law" mean? 



52 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Section 4. — Both Houses, or The Congress 

Clause 1. The times, places and manner of holding elections for 
Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by 
the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law 
make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing 
Senators. 

Cl. 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and 
such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they 
shall by law appoint a different day. 

27. The Election of Senators. — The place of choosing 
Senators is left entirely with the State Legislature, 
otherwise Congress would have power to say where the 
capital of a State should be; but the time and manner 
may be regulated by Congress. Accordingly, in 1866, 
Congress provided that Senators shall be elected on the 
second Tuesday after the meeting and organization of the 
Legislature. Each house must on that day vote sepa- 
rately, by a viva voce vote, and record the vote on its 
journal. The next day, at twelve o'clock noon, the 
two houses must convene in joint assembly, and if the 
same person has received a majority of the votes of eacli 
house he is declared elected. If no person has such 
a majority the joint assembly must take a viva voce 
vote, and the person who receives a majority of all the 
votes of the joint assembly is declared elected, provided 
a majority of the members of both houses are present 
and voting. Should there be no election again, the 
joint assembly must meet at noon on each succeeding 
day, and take at least one vote every day until a Sen- 
ator shall have been chosen. The Governor must certify 
the election, under the seal of the State, to the Presi- 
dent of the Senate of the United States. 

28, The Election of Representatives, —By an act of 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 53 

Congress Representatives are elected on the Tuesday 

next after the first Monday in November of the even 
years; but Maine and Vermont have different days 
designated in their Constitutions for this purpose and 
do not come under the law of Congress as long as they 
- make no new Constitution. The elections are held at 
the regular polling places in the Congressional dis- 
tricts. Nearly all the States elect also their State 
offers on this day. 

The power of making or altering the regulations 
governing the elections of Senators and Representatives 
was given to Congress to prevent the State legislatures 
from annihilating the Union by failing to choose persons 
to administer its affairs. 

29. A Congress and its Sessions. — A Congress covers 
a period of two years, beginning on March 4th of the 
odd years. The Fifty-ninth Congress began March 4, 
1905. A Congress has a long and a short session. Each 
begins on the first Monday in December. The long, or 
first session, ends at various~tim.es — usually lasting until 
midsummer following — while the short, or second session, 
must end at 12 o'clock noon, March 4, of the second year. 

Questions on the Section. — What matter relating to the election 
of Senators may Congress not regulate? Could Congress forbid the 
use of the Australian ballot in the election of Representatives? On 
what day of each year does Congress convene? How long after the 
election of Representatives before their term begins? Before the first 
session begins? 

Section 5. — The Houses Separately 

Clause 1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, 
and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall 
constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may 
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the at- 



54 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE! UNITED STATES 

tendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penal* 
ties as each house may provide. 

Cl. 2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, 
punish its members for disorderly behavior and, with the concurrence 
of two thirds, expel a member. 

Cl. 3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and 
from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in 
their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members 
of either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of 
those present, be entered on the journal. 

Cl. 4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, with- 
out the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor 
to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

30. Contested Seats. — If there is a contest about the 
election of a member to either house of Congress, such 
contest must be settled by that house, and not by the 
courts. A score or more of seats are sometimes con- 
tested in the House of Representatives. They are gen- 
erally given to the claimants belonging to the majority 
party in the House. In the Senate a contest is usually 
confined to the question whether a Senator was lawfully 
elected, and not whether he or some one else was elected. 
In a contest between two claimants the one having a 
certificate of election is allowed to occupy the seat until 
the decision is made. 

31. Returns and Qualifications. — "Returns" are the 
reports made by the election officers on the results of an 
election. "Qualifications" include the Constitutional 
qualifications of age, citizenship, and residence, as well 
as others that either house may require for admission. 
The House of Representatives, in 1900, refused admission 
to a polygamist; and more recently a member voluntarily 
gave up his seat because he had knowledge of corruption 
at his election. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 55 

32. The Rules of Proceedings. — As the Senate is a 
continuous body its rules, with occasional modifications, 
remain in force from one Congress to another. In the 
House of Representatives a new code is made, or the old 
one is readopted, at the beginning of each Congress. 
The most radical change made in recent years in the 
rules of the House of Representatives was that of 
determining a quorum. Until the Fifty-first Congress 
a quorum was determined by counting the members 
present and voting. In that Congress it was determined 
by counting the members present, whether voting or not. 
That rule has been followed ever since. The Senate, 
however, has not adopted it. 

A Representative may not speak longer than one hour 
on any question, without permission from the House; a 
Senator may speak as long as he pleases. There is no 
previous question to force a vote — no cloture of any 
kind— in the Senate. The consequence is that there is 
more filibustering in the Senate than in the House. 

33. Disorderly Conduct. — This offense has its source 
mostly in heated discussion and rarely exceeds a war of 
words, for which a censure may be voted. Suspension 
and expulsion are rare, because thereby the constituents 
of the offender are deprived of representation. 

34. Secrecy in Congress. — The sessions of the Con- 
tinental Congress were secret, except that when French 
relations were under consideration the French Minister 
was allowed to be present. The sessions of the Senate 
were held in secret for a few years after the Constitution 
had gone into effect. Now all sessions of both houses 
are open, except the "executive sessions'' of the Senate, 
at which treaties and Presidential appointments are 



56 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

considered, and whose proceedings are published once in 
about fifty years. The House may at any time be cleared 
of all visitors if any confidential communication has 
been received from the President or. some other source. 
35. The Two Houses Not to Obstruct Each Other. — By 
requiring both houses to work on the same days and at 
the same place, neither can delay or obstruct the work 
of the other. But it was wise not to make the require- 
ment absolute; for one house may have less work than 
the other at certain times and may then want to adjourn 
for more than three days. Furthermore, in time of 
danger, such as Congress faced in Philadelphia when the 
yellow fever raged there, or in Washington during the 
war of 1812 and the Civil War, both houses may be 
anxious to adjourn to some other place. That Congress 
has thought of such contingencies is shown by the fact 
that it has authorised the President to convene it else- 
where than at Washington if its safety should be at stake. 

Questions on the Section. — What constitutes a quorum in 
Congress? What may be done with less than a quorum? How 
may a quorum be secured? What officer brings in absent members? 
How many members need vote for a penalty less than expulsion? 
For expulsion? How does the public learn what Congress does? 
Why should anyone want to call for the yeas and nays? How many 
must call to have them taken? What good does it do to record them 
in the journal? Can either house adjourn from Thursday to Tuesday? 

Section 6. — Compensation, Privileges, and 
Disabilities 

Clause 1. — The Senators and Representatives shall receive a 
compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid 
out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, 
except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from 
arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 57 

houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any 
speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any 
other place. 

Cl. 2. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for 
which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the 
authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or 
the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such time; 
and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be 
a member of either house during his continuance in office. 

36. Salaries of Congressmen. — Both Senators and 
Representatives receive $7,500 a year; the Speaker of 
the House, $12,000, and the President pro tempore, $12,- 
000, in case there is no Vice-President. Mileage at the 
rate o( twenty cents a, mile is allowed, once for each ses- 
sion, for travelling expenses to the Capital and return 
by the most direct route of usual travel. 

37. Extent of Freedom from Arrest. — Freedom from 
arrest extends only to minor offenses; nor can a Congress- 
man be detained by a summons as a witness or juror. 
If he is under arrest for a petty offense when Congress 
is about to meet, he must be set free, that his constituents 
shall not be deprived of representation. There have 
been times when two political parties were so nearly 
equal in number that a few arrests of members in the 
majority would have put the minority in power in one 
or both branches of Congress. 

Questions on the Section. — Do the States pay the Congressmen? 
How are their salaries fixed? For what crimes may a Congressman 
be arrested when on duty? When is a Congressman free from 
arrest for other crimes? Can he be arrested for assault and battery? 
To whom is a Congressman not accountable for what he says in 
Congress? To whom is he accountable? Why this freedom of 
speech? Does it apply also to the speeches in the " Record " pub- 
lished by Congress? Under what conditions can a Congressman not 
resign to accept an office under the United States? Can he resign to 



58 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

become an army or navy officer under the same conditions? Can 
a postmaster be a member of Congress? 

Section 7.— The Making of Laws 

Clause 1. — All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur 
with amendments as on other bills. 

Cl. 2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Represen- 
tatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented 
to the President of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it, 
but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in 
which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objection at large 
on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such recon- 
sideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it 
shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by 
which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two- 
thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases 
the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and 
the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be en- 
tered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall 
not be returned by the President within ten days (Sunday excepted) 
after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, 
in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their 
adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

Cl. 3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary 
(except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the Presi- 
dent of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall 
be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed 
by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according 
to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

38. The Committee on Ways and Means. — This is the 
committee to which all revenue bills .are referred for 
consideration before final action is taken on them by 
the House. It frames the tariff and other important 
revenue bills. A tariff act generally takes its name 
from the Chairman, as the Dingley Bill, the McKinley 
Bill. The Senate has no such committee, because it 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES f)0 

does not originate revenue bills. When revenue bills 
come to the Senate from the House, they are referred 
to the Finance Committee. 

The revenue from all sources, except the postal serv- 
ice, for the year ending June 30, 1910, was $675,511,- 
715; while the expenditures were $659,705,391. The 
receipts in 1791 were $4,409,950, in 1860, $56,054,600; 
the payments were $3,097,453 and $40,948,383. 

Bills for the expenditure of money may originate in 
either house; but the practice is for most of them to 
originate in the House of Representatives. Before 
1865 the Ways and Means Committee had charge of the 
appropriation bills as well as of the revenue bills. Since 
then there has been a separate Appropriation Committee 
in the House — in fact it has several associate committees. 
The Senate, too, has an Appropriation Committee. 

The Secretary of the Treasury, at the beginning of 
each regular session, sends to Congress estimates of the 
funds needed in the various departments for the next 
fiscal year. These estimates form the basis of the 
appropriation bills. 

39. Other Committees. — There are from fifty to sixty 
standing committees in each House — one for every sub- 
ject of legislation that comes up regularly in every 
session. Each member is on a committee and some are 
on several. 

40. Mode of Passing Bills. — The mdde of procedure in 
passing bills is nearly the same in both houses. After 
the committee, to which a bill introduced by some 
member was committed for consideration, makes its 
report the clerk takes the bill as reported by the com- 
mittee and has it printed for distribution among the 



GO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

members. The bill is then read three times on three 
separate days (the three readings, by unanimous consent, 
may all be ordered on one day). After the second read- 
ing the bill is debated and amendments may be made. 
The bill is then read a third time, when it is voted upon 
as amended. If it receives a majority of the votes it is 
passed and taken to the other house for concurrence. 
There it goes through the same process. If it passes 
with amendments the bill is returned to the house in 
which it originated, for concurrence in the amendments; 
but the original bill, having been once debated by the 
first house, is not again the subject of debate. If the 
amendments are adopted the presiding officers of both 
houses sign it and it goes to the President for his signa- 
ture. If the house in which the bill originated does not 
adopt the amendments of the other house the bill fails 
to pass; unless a conference committee, composed of a 
few members from each house, is appointed and suc- 
ceeds in arranging a compromise. In that event each 
house will pass the bill as reported by the conference 
committee. 

41. "A Pocket Veto." — If Congress sends a bill to the 
President less than ten days before adjournment, and 
he does not sign it, his not signing it amounts to a veto. 
This is called "a pocket veto." It was first employed 
by President Jackson. In order to avoid " pocket 
vetoes" of bills which the President wants to become 
laws he has to work very hard during the last hours 
before adjournment, signing such as were delayed to the 
last day of the session. 

42. No Laws to be Passed in Disguise. — Either house 
may pass an order or a resolution affecting itself only, or 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 61 

both houses may pass a concurrent resolution expressing 
merely their views on some subject, without submitting 
the same to the President. Other orders and resolutions 
must be passed in the same way as bills, and then they 
have the same legal effect. 

Questions on the Section. — Where must revenue bills originate? 
What power has the Senate on them? To which house must the 
President return a vetoed bill? What must accompany the veto 
of a bill? What is done with his objections? How is a bill passed 
over the President's veto? Why require the yeas and nays? How 
may a bill become a law without the President's signature? How 
may it fail without his veto? What kind of resolutions, etc., need 
not be signed by the President? 

Section 8. — The Powers of Congress 

The Congress shall have power 

Clause 1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, 
to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general 
welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises 
shall be uniform throughout the United States; 

Cl. 2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

Cl. 3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the 
several States, and with the Indian tribes; 

Cl. 4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uni- 
form laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United 
States; 

Cl. 5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign 
coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures; 

Cl. 6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the se- 
curities and current coin of the United States; 

Cl. 7. To establish post offices and post roads; 

Cl. 8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by 
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive 
right to their respective writings and discoveries; 

Cl. 9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

Cl. 10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed 
on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations; 

Cl. 11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and 
make rules concerning captures on land and water; 



62 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Cl. 12. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of 
money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; 

Cl. 13. To provide and maintain a navy; 

Cl. 14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the 
land and naval forces; 

Cl. 15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the 
laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; 

Cl. 16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the 
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed 
in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respec- 
tively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority oF training 
the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; 

Cl. 17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, 
over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession 
of particular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat 
of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like authority 
over all places purchased by the consent of the Legislature of the 
State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, 
arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings; — and 

Cl. 18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers 
vested by this constitution in the Government of the United 
States, or in any department or officer thereof. 



43. Taxes, — The term "taxes" here means direct 
taxes (see p. 44) . There are two reasons why the 
United States does not often resort to direct taxation. 
One is that the wealth of a State and its population are 
not always proportionate. A State with the same 
population as another may have twice as much wealth 
as the first. Yet, if a direct tax is laid, the two must pay 
the same share of it (see p. 41). The other reason is 
that the States and their local governments employ 
direct taxation; and if the United States did likewise 
too much of the burden of taxation would be on real and 
personal property. 

44. Indirect Taxes. — A direct tax, in the broad sense of 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 63 

the word, is laid directly on the person who must finally 
pay it, as a house tax, income tax, dog tax, poll tax, etc. 
An indirect tax is laid on commodities. It is paid first 
by the manufacturer, producer, or merchant, but finally 
by the consumer, as a part of the price. The indirect tax 
is more easily borne, because people pay it without 
knowing that they are taxed. Indirect taxes consist of 
duties, imposts, and excises. 

45. Duties and Imposts. — Duties include taxes on 
imports and exports; imposts mean taxes on imports 
only. The United States is not permitted to tax exports; 
hence duties and imposts mean the same thing in this 
connection. A schedule of rates is called a tariff. The 
object of a revenue tariff is to produce revenue only. A 
protective tariff is to check imports and encourage the 
domestic production of such articles. A prohibitive 
tariff is intended to prevent importation "altogether. 
The revenue collected at the custom houses of the United 
States, for the year 1910, amounted to nearly 
$333,683,445, in a total revenue of $675,511,715. 

Duties are of two kinds — ad valorem and specific. 
An ad valorem duty is a certain per cent, of the value 
of the goods on the invoice ; for example, twenty-five 
per cent, on the cost of a shawl. A specific duty is a 
fixed sum levied on a certain quantity, as a bushel or 
a pound; for example, two cents on a yard of calico. 

46. Excises. — Excises are taxes on the manufacture 
and sale of commodities. This being a tax on domes- 
tic articles, it is called the " internal re venue.' ' The 
chief objects so taxed are alcoholic liquors and to- 
bacco. The internal revenue for 1910 was about 
$289,933,519. 



64 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

47. Borrowing Money. — If a sudden necessity for more 
money than it is prudent to raise by taxation arises, as 
in time of war, Congress borrows money. The debt so 
incurred is guaranteed by the power of taxation. Bor- 
rowing money is a device for distributing an extraordinary 
expense among more than one generation. A govern- 
ment usually borrows money by the sale of bonds, payable 
at a certain time, with interest. At the close of the 
Civil War our debt was nearly $3,000,000,000. 

48. Important Commercial Laws. — The most im- 
portant laws of Congress, passed by virtue of its power 
over commerce, are those which 

(a) Protect shipping by means of lighthouses, buoys, 
and life-saving stations. 

(b) Regulate navigation by establishing ports of 
entry and clearing, by registering vessels under the 
United States flag, by excluding foreign vessels from 
the coast trade, and by levying tonnage duties. 

(c) Control immigration by exclusion acts and test 
acts. 

(d) Regulate interstate commerce through the Inter- 
state Commerce Commission. 

(e) Control trusts. 

(/) Establish Indian agencies and reservations. . 

49. Naturalization. — To become a citizen an alien must 
declare, upon oath, before a United States court or a 
State court having common-law jurisdiction, at least two 
years before his naturalization, that he intends to become 
a citizen and to renounce his allegiance to his own 
country, and to any title of nobility, should he have one. 
If he has complied with this requirement and has been a 
resident within the United States for at least five years, 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 65 

and one year within the State or Territory in which he 
applies for citizenship, he receives his naturalization 
papers, provided he has been a person of good moral 
character while in this country and loyal to the Con- 
stitution. A minor who has resided in the United State? 
three years immediately before becoming of age may, 
after arriving at his majority and after having been a 
resident five years, including the three years of his 
minority, become a citizen, if he makes oath that it has 
been his intention for two years to become a citizen. 
The children of persons who have been duly naturalized, 
being under the age of twenty-one years at the time of 
the naturalization of their parents, shall, if dwelling in 
the United States, be considered as citizens thereof. 
The children of persons who are or have been citi- 
zens of the United States, are, though born out of the 
limits and jurisdiction of the United States, considered 
as citizens thereof. Honorably discharged soldiers and 
seamen, being foreigners and having served under the 
United States flag, may become citizens without com- 
plying with all the conditions imposed upon other 
foreigners. 

Only white persons and persons of African descent can 
be naturalized by present laws. The naturalization of 
Chinamen is expressly prohibited by a law of 1882; 
and it has been refused to Japanese; but a child born in 
the United States of such parents is a citizen. Some- 
times whole communities have been naturalized by a 
treaty or law of Congress, as in the case of the people of 
Louisiana and Texas, when they were annexed to the 
United States. 

50. Bankruptcy. — A bankrupt law is one by which 



00 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

an insolvent debtor may settle with his creditors and 
become free from further legal obligation to pay the debts 
not settled in this manner. When no law of Congress 
exists in reference to bankruptcy State laws on the sub- 
ject are in effect. Congress has passed and repealed three 
such laws, and a fourth is now in operation. 

Si. Coining Money. — Coin is money made of metal. 
The coining of money is done at mints. There are mints 
at Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, Carson 
City, and Denver. We have gold, silver, and copper 
coins in the United States. Copper is used as an alloy 
in the gold and silver coins, nickel with copper in the 
five-cent piece, and tin and zinc with copper in the cent. 
Anyone can have any amount of gold coined into money 
free of charge. This is free and unlimited coinage. 
Silver is not so treated, and has not been since 1873, 
because the market value of the silver in the dollar has 
been worth only about fifty cents for some years. The 
half-dollars and other subsidiary silver coins do not have 
so much silver proportionately as the dollar; while the 
metal in the two minor coins is worth still less in pro- 
portion to their face value. It follows that the Govern- 
ment, in making silver and minor coins, has a profit. 
This profit is known as seigniorage. 

52. Legal Tender. — This is money that must be ac- 
cepted by a creditor in payment of a debt. Some of the 
coins are legal tender for certain amounts only. The 
silver coins below the dollar are legal tender up to ten 
dollars; the minor coins up to twenty-five cents. All 
gold coins and silver dollars are legal tender to any 
amount. 

53. The Value of Coin. — In 1900 the gold dollar was 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 67 

made the standard of money in the United States. If 
the value of a silver dollar were regulated by the amount 
of silver it contains, the coin would have to be much 
larger than it is; for the silver in it is worth much less 
than the gold in a gold dollar. But the Government 
guarantees the silver dollar to be equal in value with the 
gold dollar. The value of foreign coins is determined 
by finding the amount of gold or silver in them and 
comparing it with the amount in our standard. 

54. Weights and Measures.— Congress never exercised 
much authority over weights and measures. It adopted 
the English Troy pound and made the metric system 
legal if used. But outside of its scientific applications 
the metric system has never found great favor in the 
United States. In 1901 a National Standardizing 
Bureau was established in the Treasury Department, 
where standards used in all the applied sciences are kept. 
Scientific instruments need no longer be sent to Europe 
to have them standardized. 

55. Counterfeiting Securities and Current Coin.— The 
securities of the United States are its paper money and 
bonds. There is a large variety of paper money in 
circulation. The "greenbacks" are simply promissory 
notes, without interest, passing as money. They were 
issued in the time of the Civil War to pay current expenses 
until money could be raised by taxation and the sale of 
bonds. 

National bank notes, as the name indicates, are issued 
by national banks. These notes pass for money because 
every dollar of them is secured by United States bonds, 
bought by the banks and deposited with the Treasurer 
of the United States, 



68 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Gold and silver certificates are certificates of deposit; 
that is, the gold and silver which they represent are on 
deposit in the United States Treasury. The certificates 
are more convenient to handle— especially in large 
amounts — than gold and silver coins. 

All these forms of paper money, as well as the silver 
money, by a law passed in 1900, must be kept at a parity 
of value with gold. The gold and silver certificates and 
the national bank notes are not legal tender; but as 
they are well secured and may be exchanged for legal 
tender money, they circulate readily. 

As so much of the currency in daily use is paper money, 
the notes would be counterfeited extensively if Congress 
had not passed very stringent laws against counterfeiting 
and passing counterfeit money. 

56. Post Offices and Post Roads. — Out of the power of 
Congress to establish post offices and post roads has 
grown the greatest business concern in the world. An 
ex-Postmaster-General said: "It handles more pieces, 
employs more men, spends more money, brings more 
revenue, uses more agencies, reaches more homes, in- 
volves more details, and touches more interests than anj' 
other human organization, public or private, govern- 
mental or corporate. " The receipts and expenses in- 
crease from year to year in large amounts. In 1904 they 
were about $150,000,000; in 1910, about $225,000,000. 
There are about 65,000 offices now, as against sev- 
enty-five in 1790, when the revenue was $38,000, 
Carrier routes, railroads and canals, and waters 
in the United States, while mail is carried thereon, 
are post roads, The less important routes, over 



THE GOVERNMENT OF TILE UNITED STATES 69 

which mail is not carried by railways or steamboats, are 
known as "star routes," because designated in the books 
of the Postal Department by stars.. 

57. Copyrights and Patents. — Congress, for the public 
good, has secured authors and inventors for a limited 
time in their respective writings and discoveries. A 
copyright is good for twenty-eight years and may be 
renewed for another fourteen 3^ears. A patent is good 
for seventeen years, but may be extended by special act 
of Congress. During these years the author or inventor, 
or the person in w 7 hose name the patent or copyright is 
registered, has the sole right to make and sell what he 
has copyrighted or patented. Our copyright laws pro- 
tect foreign publications, provided they come from 
countries which protect our publications; but such 
literary products must be printed from type set in the 
United States. The patent office is self-supporting. 

58. Piracies and Felonies. — Piracy is robbing on the 
high sea or upon the coast by descent from the sea, com- 
mitted by persons not holding a commission from any 
established state. Felonies are grave crimes. The 
"law of nations," or international law, determines the 
conduct of the general body of civilized states in their 
dealings with one another. The jurisdiction of a State 
in the United States, having a seacoast, ends with the 
low-water mark. The United States has jurisdiction 
beyond that line and extending three miles into the 
ocean, including gulfs and bays. Beyond the three-mile 
limit jurisdiction is determined by the flag of the vessel 
— the United States having jurisdiction over crimes 
committed on vessels floating its flag. 

59. The Military Powers. — The military powers of 



70 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Congress include declaring war, granting letters of 
marque and reprisal, providing an army and a navy, 
providing for the calling out of the militia and making 
laws for its organization and training. While Congress 
declares war, the President, as commander-in-chief of 
the army and navy, determines when it shall close; but 
Congress shall make no appropriation for more than two 
years for the use of the army and navy. 

60. Letters of Marque and Reprisal. — These are com- 
missions granted to private persons and ships in time of 
war to seize the property of the enemy. Ships to which 
such letters are granted are called privateers. Privateer- 
ing has been abandoned by our country as well as by 
most other civilized nations. Captures of the enemy's 
property are now made by the army and navy only. 

61. The Army. — As now constituted the army consists 
of not less than 57,000 men and not more than 100,000. 
Its general oversight is entrusted to the General Staff, 
composed of the heads of several bureaus in the War 
Department (see p. 89). The Staff is auxiliary to the 
President as ex-ofjicio commander-in-chief. The officers 
and non-commissioned officers of the army, from the 
highest to the lowest in rank, are lieutenant general, 
major general, brigadier general, colonel, major, captain, 
first and second lieutenant, first sergeant, sergeant, and 
corporal. 

62. The Navy. — Since 1883 our navy has been enlarged 
so much that it is excelled in strength by but two or 
three European nations. It is claimed that our country 
needs a strong navy for the defense of its islands in the 
sea and the protection of its commerce. The general 
direction of naval affairs is under a General Board, 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 71 

auxiliary to the Secretary of the Navy (see p. 90). The 
grades of officers are admiral, rear admiral, commodore, 
captain, commander, lieutenant commander, lieutenant, 
master, and ensign. 

63. Appropriations to the Army. — In order that no 
standing army may be kept up by the executive arm of 

, the Government against the will of the people, appropria- 
tions for its maintenance cannot be made for a longer 
period than two years. 

64. Military Law. — The laws of Congress by which the 
land and naval forces are governed and regulated con- 
stitute what is known as "military law." Offenses 
under this law are not tried by the civil courts, but by 
military courts called " courts martial." There is no jury 
trial. From five to thirteen officers are appointed by 
the general in command, to try cases. 

65. Martial Law. — In time of war it sometimes be- 
comes necessary to suspend the civil law over territory 
occupied by the army, and put such territory under 
martial law, that is, under military authority — the civil 
courts being superseded by military courts. 

66. The Militia. — The militia consists of all able- 
bodied male citizens, and foreigners who have declared 
their intention to become citizens, between the ages of 
eighteen and forty-five years. The part of the militia 
organized into regiments by the States constitutes the 
National Guard. It is primarily intended for use by the 
State, but may be mustered into the service of the United 
States in the same way as the unorganized militia. At 
the outbreak of the war with Spain qualified members 
of the National Guard were taken into the service of the 
United States as volunteers. The militia could not be 



72 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

called out, because the war was not declared to execute 
the laws of the Union, to suppress insurrection, or to 
repel invasion. 

A naval militia has also been organized in some States. 
In time of war the men are used to take the place of the 
regular force on vessels defending harbors. 

67. The District of Columbia and Other Ceded Places* 
—The affairs of government in the District of Columbia 
are administered by three commissioners appointed by 
the President. The citizens do not exercise the elective 
franchise. Congress passes the laws required for the 
District; but much of the legislation is shaped by the 
commissioners. Half of the public expenses are met by 
taxation and half by Congressional appropriation. 

Numerous purchases of land have been made in the 
States by the Federal Government for post offices, custom 
houses, forts, arsenals, dock yards, etc. When the State 
legislatures cede the control of such lands to Congress 
they generally reserve the right to serve all State proc- 
esses, civil and criminal, upon persons found in the ceded 
places, in order to prevent such places from becoming 
asylums for fugitives from justice. 

68. The Implied Powers. — The last clause among the 
powers of Congress has been variously designated as 
the "elastic clause," the "enacting clause," the "sweep- 
ing clause." Together with the Preamble it has been 
the great battle ground between political parties since 
the Constitution went into effect. There are two kinds 
of powers given to Congress — the expressed powers, 
comprising the first seventeen clauses, and the implied 
powers, comprising the eighteenth, or last, clause. One 
party, the strict constructionists, has held to the letter 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 73 

of the Constitution, limiting Congress to such powers as 
are expressly stated. The other, the loose construction- 
ists, has given a more liberal construction to the Con- 
stitution, relying especially for authority to do so upon 
the " elastic clause/ 7 and on certain parts of the Preamble. 
In establishing the United States Bank, Congress for the 
first time exercised its power of making " all laws neces- 
sary and proper for carrying into execution" one of its 
expressed powers, namely, the power of collecting taxes 
and borrowing money. Congress exercises much more 
implied power now than it did a hundred or even fifty 
years ago. 

Questions on the Section. — For what purposes may Congress 
lay and collect taxes, etc.? What power has Congress over com- 
merce? Can a higher rate of duty be charged at New York than 
at Boston? Why should commerce with tribes of Indians not be 
regulated by the States? Why should Congress coin money and 
fix the standard of weights and measures? Why is counterfeiting 
punished? What are copyrights and patents? What are they for? 
What courts may Congress establish? Are appropriations to the 
navy limited to two years? For what may the militia be called forth? 
What power has Congress over the militia? The State? Over 
what places in a State does Congress exercise authority? Whose 
consent must Congress get before it can exercise such authority? 
Commit the eighteenth clause to memory, also the Preamble. 

Section 9. — Powers Forbidden to Congress 

Clause 1. The migration or importation of such persons as any 
of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be 
prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hun- 
dred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importa- 
tion, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

Cl. 2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public 
safety may require it. 

Cl. 3. No bill of attainder or ex-post-facto law shall be passed. 



74 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Cl. 4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in 
proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to 
be taken. 

Cl. 5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any 
State. 

Cl. 6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of com- 
merce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another; nor 
shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, 
or pay duties in another. 

Cl. 7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in con- 
sequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and 
' account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall 
\ be published from time to time. 

Cl. 8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States . 
and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, 
without the consent o^ the Congress, accept of any present, emolu- 
ment, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince., 
or foreign state. 

69. The Slave Trade. — The clause on the slave trade 
was a part of the third great compromise in the Con- 
stitutional Convention. As slavery was on the decline 
after the Revolutionary War, all the States but three — 
the Carolinas and Georgia — had already forbidden the 
importation of slaves from foreign countries. In def- 
erence to South Carolina and Georgia the importation 
was tolerated by the Constitution for twenty years. 
The tax, however, was never imposed. A law of Con- 
gress, carrying out the constitutional prohibition, went 
into effect January 1, 1808; but there was so much eva- 
sion of the law that in 1820 the slave trade was declared 
to be piracy, punishable with death. Only one man 
was executed under the law of 1820. 

70. Terms Defined. — The writ of habeas corpus ("you 
may have the body") is awarded by a judge to an officer 
to produce before the court the body of a prisoner, for 



THE GOVERNMENT OE THE UNITED STATES 75 

the purpose of inquiring into the cause; of imprisonment. 
If the cause is insufficient the prisoner is set free; if 
not, he is remanded to jail. This writ applies also to 
cases of detention other than for crime; for instance, 
where a person is unlawfully in an insane asylum, or 
where a child is held by the wife when the husband is 
entitled to it. 

Bills of Attainder are special acts of a legislature in- 
flicting capital punishment upon persons supposed to 
be guilty of high offenses, such as treason and felony, 
without any conviction by the ordinary course of court 
proceedings. If an act inflicts a milder degree of punish- 
ment than death it is called a bill of pains and penalties. 
In other words it is punishment without a court trial. 

An Ex-post-facto ("after the deed is done") law is 
one which renders an act punishable in a manner in 
which it was not punishable when it was committed. 
It applies to acts of a criminal nature onty. 

71. Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus. — The 
Constitution is silent as to who may suspend the writ. 
In a few cases in which it was suspended, namely, in 
the Civil War, the act was done by the President. The 
Supreme Court attempted to restrain him, but failed, 
Congress afterwards approved Lincoln's action and gave 
him power to suspend the writ, but took it away again 
from Johnson. So it is now understood that this power 
belongs to Congress, to be exercised by that body itself, 
or to be delegated to the President. 

72. Export Duties.— That export duties are forbidden 
was an advantage to the agricultural States alone, in 
1787. The clause was inserted in the Constitution as 
a part of the third great compromise (see p. 34); but 



76 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

now nations generally consider it poor policy to tax 
exports and thereby increase the price at which they 
must be sold in foreign markets to compete with other 
countries. 

73. Uniformity of Commercial and Revenue Laws.— 
The States, under the Articles of Confederation, had 
enacted many laws injurious to one another in domestic 
and foreign trade. It was said that New Jersey, suffer- 
ing from such laws passed by Pennsylvania and New 
York, was "like a barrel tapped at both ends. 7 ' North 
Carolina, Connecticut, and Maryland were also victims 
of such practices. Maryland was afraid Virginia might 
stop ships on their way to and from Baltimore, for the 
purpose of exacting duty. 

74. Coastwise, Lake, and River Trade. — All commerce 
along the coast and on rivers and lakes must be carried 
in ships built in American shipyards; but foreign ships 
may engage in our 'foreign trade. 

Questions on the Section. — For how long a time was the slave 
trade allowed? How much tax could be collected on each person 
imported? When may the writ of habeas corpus be suspended? 
Could Congress have included more than three-fifths of the slaves, 
in laying a capitation tax? Define enter and clear. Can a vessel 
from New York be made to pay duty at Boston? How is money 
drawn from the Treasury? Can anybody receive a title of nobility 
from the United States? May a citizen of the United States receive 
such a title from a foreign country? May an office holder? What 
may an office holder not receive , and from whom not? May a 
private citizen receive such? May an office holder receive a gift 
from a private citizen? 

Section 10. — Powers Forbidden to the States 

Clause 1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or 
confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; 
emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 77 

in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex-post-facto law, 
or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of 
nobility. 

Cl. 2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay 
any impost or duties on imports or exports, except what may be ab- 
solutely necessary for executing its inspection lews; and the net 
produce of all duties and impost, laid by any State on imports or 
exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and 
all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
Congress. , 

Cl. 3. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any 
duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships-of-war, in time of peace, enter 
into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign 
pow r er, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent 
danger as will not admit of delay. 

75. Powers Forbidden to the States. — Most of the 
powers forbidden to the States are such as may be 
exercised by the United States. A few are forbidden 
to both. 

76. Treaties, Alliances, and Confederations. — If the 
States could make treaties and form alliances and con- 
federations it would be in their power to involve them- 
selves and the whole country in a war — foreign or civil. 
If Texas could regulate the intercourse of its people with 
Mexico, or New York with Canada, and so on, there 
would be no stability in the relations with our foreign 
neighbors. 

77. Bills of Credit. — From the time of King William's 
War down to the adoption of the Constitution, the legis- 
latures, first of the Colonies, and then of the States, 
issued bills of credit, or paper money. In fact, one of 
the reasons for abandoning the Articles of Confederation 
was the excessive use of paper money by the States (see 
p. 31). When Congress issued the "greenbacks/' or 
treasury notes (see p. 67), it was a question whether the 



78 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

United States could issue bills of credit. Some states- 
men argued that if the States were prohibited from doing 
so it was evident that the prohibition extended to 
Congress also. But the Supreme Court held that Con- 
gress could emit bills of credit and make them legal 
tender. 

78. Impairing the Obligation of Contracts. — A contract 
is an agreement "to do or not to do a particular thing " 
that is legally binding. No State shall pass a law by 
which a contract may be broken. This provision is in 
civil cases what the provision about the ex-post-facto 
law is in criminal cases. 

79. Inspection Laws. — A State may pass a law for the 
inspection of oil, cattle, food products, etc., and collect 
the cost of inspection from the owners. Such laws must 
not be made with the intent of protecting the dealers, 
but the people, of the State. 

80. With the Consent of Congress. — Instances in 
which States have obtained the consent of Congress for 
imposing duties on foreign imports are rare. South 
Carolina did so on one occasion in behalf of the city of 
Charleston, which wanted the revenue thus raised for 
some municipal improvements. 

Questions on the Section. — For what purpose may a State lay 
a duty on imports without the consent of Congress? For what pur- 
poses must it have consent from Congress? What must be done with 
the net proceeds? What must be done before such State laws can 
go into effect? What is tonnage? When may a State engage in 
war without the consent of Congress? 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 79 

ARTICLE II.— THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 
Section 1. — The President and Vice President 

Clause 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President 
of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during 
the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen 
for the same term, be elected, as follows: 

Cl. 2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legis- 
lature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole 
number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may 
be entitled in the Congress; but no Senator or Representative, or 
person holding any office of trust or profit under the United States, 
shall be appointed an elector. 

Cl. 3.* The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote 
by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make 
a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; 
which list they shall sign and certify and transmit sealed to the seat 
of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of 
the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, 
and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest 
number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than 
one who have such majority, and have an eojial number of votes, then 
the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot 
one of them for President; and if no person have a majority, then 
from the five highest on the list the said house shall, in like manner, 
choose the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall 
be taken by States, the representation from each State having one 
vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be 
necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, 
the person having the highest number of votes of the electors shall 
be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more 
who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot 
the Vice President. 



* This clause has been superseded by the 12th Amendment, which follows 
immediately. 



80 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Article XII. — The electors shall meet in their respective States, 
and vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, 
at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; 
they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and 
in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President; and they 
shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of 
all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number of votes 
for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
the seat of Government of the United States, directed to the Presi- 
dent of the Senate; — the President of the Senate shall in the presence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, 
and the votes shall then be counted; — the person having the greatest 
number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no 
person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest 
numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President 
the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, 
the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be 
taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; 
a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall 
be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall 
not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve 
upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the 
Vice President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or 
other constitutional disability of the President. The person having 
the greatest number of votes as Vice President, shall be the Vice 
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of elec- 
tors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the 
two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice 
President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of 
the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number 
shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally 
ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice 
President of the United States. 

Cl. 4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the 
electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which 
day shall be the same throughout the United States. 

Cl. 5. No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of 
the United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, 
shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 81 

be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty-five years, and been fourteen years resident within the United 
States. 

Cl. 6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his 
death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and 
the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, 
resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice President, 
declaring what officer shall then act as President; and such officer 
shall act accordingly until the disability be removed, or a President 
shall be elected. 

Cl. 7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his serv- 
ices a compensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished 
during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall 
not receive within that period any other emolument from the United 
States, or any of them. 

Cl. 8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take 
the following oath or affirmation: — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) 
that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United 
States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and 
defend the Constitution of the United States.'! 

8i. Nature of the Executive.— One of the great defects 
of the Government under the Continental Congress and 
the Articles of Confederation was the lack of executive 
power. Having just freed themselves from the power 
of " a Prince whose character was marked by every act 
which may define a Tyrant," the States were very 
cautious in creating the executive. History furnished 
other examples where the executive power had brought 
ruin upon the state, or had " sunk under the oppressive 
burden of its own imbecility." The Constitutional 
Convention therefore carefully considered whether there 
should be any executive department, whether it should 
consist of one or more than one person, and what should 
be the term of office. The necessity of an executive 
was quite apparent; but some favored a triple-headed 



82 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

executive — one person from each of the three sections of 
the Union, New England, the Middle States, and the 
South. The term of office had first been fixed at seven 
years, without eligibility for reelection. To secure 
energy and responsibility in the office and safety to the 
people, the executive was made single and the term 
reduced to four years, not prohibiting reelection. Nine 
Presidents have been honored with a second term; and 
an effort was made to nominate one— President Grant — 
for a third term. So far we have escaped the dangers of 
tyranny, though there is great power lodged in the 
executive. Some Presidents were pronounced tyrants 
by political opponents at the time, but history .gives no 
such name to any of them. 

82. Presidential Electors. — The Presidential electors 
are the persons who directly elect the President and 
Vice-President. # Each State chooses as many pres- 
idential electors as it has Senators and Representa- 
tives in Congress. The whole number constitutes the 
Electoral College. The presidential electors of each 
State are frequently called the Electoral College of that 
State. The Electoral College of the United States 
consists of 531 members. Members of Congress and 
persons holding positions of profit or trust under the 
United States are prohibited from serving as presi- 
dential electors. 

83. Nomination and Election of Presidential Electors. — 
Each political party in a State nominates a ticket of 
Presidential electors, usually at a State convention. A 
voter, as a rule, votes for all the candidates on his party's 
ticket, and, as a consequence, the presidential electors 
chosen in a State are generally of the same political party. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 83 

Occasionally voters will " scratch" an electoral ticket 
and thereby elect a divided Electoral College in a State. 
In 1892 the electoral vote of five States was divided: 
in California and Ohio, because the vote for Cleveland 
and Harrison electors was close; in Michigan, because by 
act of the Legislature each Congressional district voted 
separately for an elector; in Oregon, because one of the 
four candidates for electors on the Populist ticket w^as 
also on the Democratic ticket, the result being three 
Republicans and one Populist elected; in North Dakota, 
because one of the two Populist electors who were elected 
cast his vote for Cleveland, thus causing the electoral 
vote of the State to be equally divided between Cleveland; 
Harrison, and Weaver. 

Presidential electors at first were quite generally 
elected by the State legislatures. South Carolina followed 
this -practice until the Civil War. 

84. The Election of President and Vice-President. — 
The election of President and Vice-President, or rather 
of the presidential electors, is held on the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November, in the year when a 
President is to be chosen. Usually it is known by the 
next morning which political party has elected a majority 
of presidential electors; but the last act in the election 
of a President and Vice-President takes place more than 
three months after Election Day. The presidential 
electors meet on the second Monday in January following 
their election, usually at the Capitol of their respective 
States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-Pres- 
ident, one of whom at least shall not be an inhabitant 
of the same State as themselves. Three lists of the 
persons voted for for each office are made ; each list 



84 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

showing the number of votes each candidate has re- 
ceived. The electors sign, certify, and seal these lists, 
and deposit one with the judge of the district court of 
the United States for the district in which the electors 
meet. The other two are sent to the President of the 
United States Senate, one by mail, and one by special 
messenger. 

85. Counting the Electoral Votes. — On the second 
Wednesday in February following both houses of 
Congress meet in joint convention, when the President 
of the Senate opens the sealed lists, and the votes are 
counted. The persons receiving a majority of all the 
votes cast for President and Vice-President respectively 
are declared elected. If no person receives a majority 
of all the electoral votes cast for President the choice of 
that officer devolves upon the House of Representatives, 
the selection being made from the three candidates 
receiving the highest number of electoral votes. Each 
State has but one vote, and a majority of the Representa- 
tives from each State casts the vote of that State. When 
a vote for President is taken in the House of Representa- 
tives there must be present one or more, members from 
at least two-thirds of all the States, and a majority of all 
the votes is necessary to a choice. At least one vote is 
taken every day, but if no choice is made before March 
4th, the day on which the presidential term begins, the 
Vice-President serves as President. Only two Presidents 
have been chosen by the House of Representatives, 
Thomas Jefferson, for his first term, and John Quincy 
Adams. 

The Vice-President is chosen at the same time and in 
the same manner as the President, except that when 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 85 

the electors fail to elect that duty devolves upon the 
Senate. The choice must then be made from the two 
candidates having the highest number of votes cast by 
the Electoral College. Richard M. Johnson, elected in 
1837, has been the only Vice-President chosen by the 
Senate. 

86. Minority Presidents. — In ten elections the suc- 
cessful candidate for President failed to get a majority 
of the popular vote, that is, a majority of all the votes 
cast for presidential electors. The ones so elected are 
known as minority Presidents. 

87. Nominations for President and Vice-President. — It 
was intended by the Constitution that the Electoral 
College should choose for President and Vice-President 
the men whom they considered best fitted for these 
offices; but since the time of John Adams the electors 
have been pledged to vote for candidates already nomi- 
nated. The nominations were at first made in caucuses 
held by the Congressmen of the various political parties; 
then by State legislatures and local conventions; finally, 
in Jackson's first administration, the Anti-masons, in 
1831, nominated candidates in a National Convention. 
The following year the National Republicans and the 
Jackson Democrats also held a National Convention, and 
since 1840 this method has been employed by all parties. 
Thus the longest clause in the Constitution has largely 
become a dead letter. 

88. Qualification of Birth. — That the term "natural- 
born" would apply to a man born abroad, of American 
parents, as were General Meade, ex-Speaker Crisp, and 
Mayor McClellan, of New York, all of whom have had the 
honor of being mentioned for the Presidency, is a matter 



§6 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

of conjecture; for there has never been any occasion to 
test the question. The exception made in favor of 
foreign-born citizens at the time of the adoption of the 
Constitution was a mark of respect to such men as 
Alexander Hamilton, Robert Morris, James Wilson, and 
others who were delegates to the Constitutional Con- 
vention. 

89. Presidential Succession. — In the case of the re- 
moval, death, resignation, or disability of both the 
President and Vice-President, the following line of 
succession has been provided for by Congress: Secretary 
of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, 
Attorney-General, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the 
Navy, and Secretary of the Interior. Any of these offi- 
cers, however, would only be acting-President, and should 
any of them not have the constitutional qualifications 
he could not act. Prior to 1886 the line of succession 
was President pro tempore of the Senate and Speaker of 
the House, in the order named. The two offices of 
President and Vice-President have never both become 
vacant in a presidential term. 

90. Compensation. — The respective salaries of the 
President and Vice-President are $75,000 and $12,- 
000 a year. Prior to 1873 the President received 
$25,000 a year, and from 1873 to 1909, $50,000. He 
has also the use of the White House, with fuel, light, 
furniture, care, and allowances for entertainment. 

91. The Inauguration. — At the 'inauguration, besides 
taking the oath, the President makes an address, setting 
forth his views and policies as to the affairs of the Gov- 
ernment. By custom, the Chief Justice administers the 
oath. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 87 

Questions on the Section. — Presidents term of office? May he 
be reelected? Are Presidental electors appointed by the States or 
the United States? What is the present manner of appointing them? 
What used to be the manner? How many electors from each State? 
From all the States? What persons cannot serve as electors? What 
is the difference between the 12th Amendment and Clause 3? Do 
the States determine the time as well as the manner of electing 
electors? Wliat are the qualifications of a President? Why shall 
not both the President and the Vice-President be of the same State 
with the electors? Why should the votes in the House of Represen- 
tatives be taken by States? What is a quorum when the House 
elects? How many votes are required to elect? Has the Vice- 
President ever succeeded the President? If so, how often and for 
what reasons? What condition is laid down for a change in the 
President's salary? What limitation is put upon his emolument? 
What oath does he take? When does he take it? 



Section 2.— The President's Powers 

Clause 1. The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several 
States, when called into the actual service of the United States ; 
he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each 
of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the 
duties of their respective offices ; and he shall have power to grant 
reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except 
in cases of impeachment. 

Cl. 2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators 
present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate shall appoint ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other 
officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but 
the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior 
officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of 
law, or in the heads of departments. 

Cl. 3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that 
may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions 
which shall expire at the end of their next session. 



88 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

92. The Presidents Military Powers. — In time of peace 
the President, as chief executive, carries out the laws 
without any other force than the occasional arrest of 
individuals. But as he is also Commander-in-Chief of 
the army and navy, he may use the military in case of a 
riot or widespread resistance to the laws of the United 
States. Washington, Hayes, and Cleveland had oc- 
casion to use the army in this way. However, the real 
exercise of his military powers can take place only in 
time of war; and then he may actually take command in 
person, though he has never clone so. Though Congress 
has the power to declare war, the President may, as 
Commander-in-Chief, have to begin war before Congress 
can act. So great are the President's military powers 
that he may put large sections of the country under 
martial law (see p. 71). 

93. The President's Cabinet. — The Cabinet of the 
President, consisting of the heads of the nine great 
executive departments, is not directly authorized by 
the Constitution. It was taken for granted that execu- 
tive departments would be created, for Clause 1 says that 
the President " may require the opinion in writing, of 
the principal officer of each of the executive departments 
upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective 
offices." But an organization of the heads of the 
departments into an association, namely, the Cabinet, 
has no legal standing. Its resolutions cannot bind the 
President, and he may dispense with it at any time. 

The Cabinet has stated meetings at the White House 
twice a week, when affairs of state are discussed orally, 
but seldom in writing. The opinions so expressed are 
invaluable to the President m determining his policies 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 89 

and actions, and equally so to the heads of the depart- 
ments. 

94. The Executive Departments. — The executive de- 
partments have been established as follows: State, 
Treasury, and War Departments, September, 1789; Post- 
Office Department, 1794; Navy Department, 1789; 
Interior Department, 1849; Department of Justice, 1870, 
although Congress had created the office of Attorney- 
General in 1789; Department of Agriculture, 1889; 
Department of Commerce and Labor, 1903. The salary 
of a Cabinet officer is $12,000 a year. 

95. The Secretary of State. — He has charge of all the 
affairs between our Government and others. He con- 
ducts the correspondence with our ministers and other 
agents in foreign countries and with the representatives 
of other countries here. All communications respecting 
the making of treaties are under the direction of this 
department. It also files all acts and proceedings of 
Congress and attends to the publication of the same and 
their distribution. 

96. The Secretary of the Treasury. — He has charge of 
all moneys paid into the Treasury, of all disbursements, 
the auditing of accounts, and the collection of the reve- 
nue. The department supervises the coinage of money, 
the national banks, and the Bureau of Engraving and 
Printing. The marine hospitals are under its direction, 
and it controls the regulation and appointments of all 
custom houses. It also supervises the life-saving serv- 
ice, and has control of the National Board of Health. 

97. The Secretary of War. — He has control of the army. 
Aided by the General Staff, he organizes and equips the 
army and directs its movements. He attends to the 



90 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

paying of the troops and the furnishing of supplies, and 
supervises the erection of forts and the work of military 
engineering. He has in charge the publication of official 
military records. The Military Academy at West Point, 
the War College at Washington, and the national ceme- 
teries are under the control of the War Department, and 
so is the government of the Philippines. 

98. The Attorney-General. — The Attorney-General is 
required to act as attorney for the United States in all 
suits in the Supreme Court. He is the legal adviser of 
the President and the heads of departments, and of the 
Solicitor of the Treasury. He is further charged with 
the superintendence of all United States district attor- 
neys and marshals, with the examination of all applica- 
tions to the President for pardons, and with the transfer 
of all land purchased by the United States for govern- 
ment buildings, etc. The name "Department of Jus- 
tice/' by which this division of executive power is now 
largely known, was given to it in 1870. 

99. The Postmaster-General. — He has the supervision 
of all the post offices of the country, their names, es- 
tablishment and discontinuance, the modes of carrying 
the mail, the issue of stamps, the receipt of the revenue 
of the office, and all other matters connected with the 
management &nd transportation of the mails. The 
United States is a member of the International Postal 
Union, organized for the purpose of uniform rates from 
one country to another. 

100. The Secretary of the Navy. — The Navy Depart- 
ment was at first included in the War Department, but 
in 1798 the two branches of the military service were 
separated. The Secretary of the Navy supervises the 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES ' 91 

building and repairing of all vessels, docks, and wharves. 
He is charged with the enlistment and discipline of the 
men and furnishes all supplies. The Naval Academy at 
Annapolis and the Naval Observatory at Washington 
are under the Navy Department. 

101. The Secretary of the Interior. — This department 
has charge of all matters relating to the sale and survey 
of the public lands, the adjudication and payment of 
pensions, the treaties with the Indian tribes of the West, 
the issue of letters patent to inventors, the collection of 
statistics on the progress of education, the supervision 
of the accounts of railroads, and the receiving and ar- 
ranging of printed journals for Congress, and other books 
printed and purchased for the use of the Government. 

102. The Secretary of Agriculture. — This department, 
which prior to 1889 belonged to the Department of the 
Interior, collects and disseminates useful information on 
agriculture. From it new and valuable seeds and plants 
can be had, for it is the duty of the Secretary to cultivate 
them and to furnish them to the farmers upon applica- 
tion. He investigates the diseases of plants and animals, 
makes analyses of soils, minerals, liquids, and fertilizers, 
and prepares reports on the same, which are distributed 
in all parts of the country. In 1891 the Weather Bureau 
was transferred from the War Department to the Agri- 
cultural Department. 

103. Secretary of Commerce and Labor. — The province 
and duty of this department is to foster, promote, and 
develop foreign and domestic commerce, the mining, 
manufacturing, shipping, and fishery industries, the 
labor interests, and the transportation facilities of the 
United States. The lighthouse service, inspection of 



92 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

steamboats, bureau of navigation, shipping, bureau of 
standards, coast survey, immigration service, bureau 
of statistics, census office, and fish commission are 
under the control of this department. It was created, 
in 1903, to meet the demands of the great increase of 
commerce and manufacturing that followed the Spanish- 
American war. 

104. Treaties. — The leading subjects dealt with in 
treaties are commerce, amity, peace, alliances, indemni- 
ties, boundaries, and privileges. The President may 
delegate the power to make treaties to the Secretary of 
State, or to our minister in the country with which he 
wishes to treat. " By and with the advice of the Senate" 
does not mean that he must consult that body in the 
negotiations. Yet, as the Senate has a committee on 
foreign affairs, he usually consults the Senators on that 
committee. 

105. Appointment of Officers. — The number of posi- 
tions to be filled under the Federal Government is nearly 
250,000. Of these the President appoints some 5,000 
directly. He is generally guided in the exercise of this 
power by the advice of the Cabinet, collectively and 
individually, and the members of Congress from the 
States and districts where the applicants reside. Besides 
those named in the Constitution as subject to his appoint- 
ment, the President fills the most important positions 
in Washington, the first three classes of postmasterships, 
collectorships all over the United States, and military 
and naval appointments. 

106. The Civil Service — Until recent years all civil 
appointments, except Federal judges and special com- 
missions, were made for four years. This practice began 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 93 

in 1820 in the Treasury Department and was made 
general by President Jackson. From Jackson's time 
down to 1883 every change of administration, especially 
when a new party came into power, was followed by 
a "clean sweep" of the offices. The consequence was 
that the Civil Service fell into inexperienced and even in- 
efficient and corrupt hands, and this risk was rim every 
four years. To reform this evil Congress, in 1883, passed 
the Civil Service law, creating a Civil Service Commission 
of three persons, not more than two to belong to the same 
political party. Applicants for the Civil Service in the 
executive department, except for positions filled by the 
President, with the consent of the Senate and for places 
of unskilled labor, are now, by the rules of the Civil 
Service Commission, tested by competitive examination; 
and if they receive an appointment they cannot be re- 
moved, except for just cause and upon written charges. 

107. The Diplomatic Service. — The persons through 
whom our Government transacts political business with 
other nations at their capitals are the diplomatic agents. 
Their duty is to act upon instructions coming from the 
President through ,the Secretary of State. In this 
capacity they help to make treaties and other agree- 
ments and to establish such international relations as 
are conducive to the welfare of the United States. 

There are different ranks of diplomatic agents, or 
ministers: (a) Ambassadors, or. those sent to England, 
France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Austria, Brazil, Mexico, 
Turkey, Japan; (6) envoys extraordinary and minis- 
ters plenipotentiary; (c) ministers resident; and (d) 
charges d'affaires, or those not accredited by the Presi- 
dent to the ruling person of a foreign country (as is 



94 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

the case with the first three classes), but by the Secretary 
of State to the minister of foreign affairs, of the country 
to which they are sent. The last named are sometimes 
merely temporary agents until a duly accredited minister 
arrives. The United States has ministers at the capitals 
of about forty countries of the world. Several nations 
have purchased homes for their legations at Washington 
— something we have never done for our ministers abroad. 

1 08. The Consular Service. — The persons appointed to 
look after our commercial interests abroad are called 
consuls. They are classified as consuls-general, consuls, 
and consular agents. They report upon trade condi- 
tions, indicate wherein our commerce may be benefited, 
certify invoices, examine emigrants, etc. The service 
requires about 1,100 persons. Five consuls-general — 
one each for Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South 
America— are appointed to visit every consulate at least 
once in two years, "and report to the State Department. 
Any one in the service receiving $1,000 salary or more, 
must be an American. 

109. Removal from Office. — The President can remove 
an officer not subject to the Civil Service rules, by nomi- 
nating and, with the consent of the Senate, appointing a 
successor. If the Senate is not in session any vacancy 
may be filled by the President alone; but if the Senate 
does not confirm the appointment at its next session 
the commission of such an officer expires at the end of 
that session, and the President makes a new nomination. 

Questions on the Section. — What military power has the Presi- 
dent? When has he control of the militia? What authority has 
he for consulting the heads of the departments? What is a reprieve? 
a pardon? a commutation? Can the President pardon a man 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 95 

convicted under a State law? What exception is made to his pardon- 
ing power? How many votes at least are required now (1906) for the 
Senate to concur in a treaty? What appointments is the President 
authorized by the Constitution to make? In whom may Congress 
vest powers of appointment? How are vacancies that happen in a 
recess of the Senate filled? 

Section 3. — Presidential Duties 

1. He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information 
of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. He may, on 
extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them; 
and in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time 
of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper. He shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers. 
He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and shall 
commission all the officers of the United States. 

i io. Legislative Functions of the President. — When the 
President informs Congress, through his message, as to 
the need of legislation, he is in a measure helping to 
make laws. So also when he gives his consent to a bill 
or vetoes it, or calls Congress into extra session; but when 
he calls an extra session of the Senate to confirm appoint- 
ments, which he always does immediately after his in- 
auguration, he is performing an executive function. 

in. Recognition of a Foreign Government. — When the 
President receives an ambassador from a foreign country, 
the act is an acknowledgment of friendly relations. In 
case a newly established government, as that of Panama 
in 1903, sends a minister, his reception is a recognition 
of its existence as an independent nation. 

H2. Commissions. — A commission is a certificate 
stating definitely the powers conveyed to an officer. It 
is sealed, by the Secretary of State, with the Great Seal 
of the United States. 



96 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 
Section 4. — Removal by Impeachment 

The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United 
States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and con- 
viction of, treason, bribery or other higher crimes and misdemeanors. 

113. Causes for Impeachment. — Judging by the cases 
of impeachment on record, "high crimes and misde- 
meanors 77 include, besides treason and bribery, the abuse 
of power, intemperance, violence, and neglect, Mere 
laxity or incompetence in office is not sufficient cause. 
For offenses not impeachable, unless the President dis- 
misses officers guilty of such, there is no remedy. 

114. Civil Officers. — The term "civil officers" is here 
used in distinction from army and navy officers, who 
are tried for offenses by courts-martial (see p. 71). Nor 
does the term include Senators and Representatives. 
They are amenable to their respective houses. 

Questions on the Section. — On what authority are the Presi- 
dent's messages to Congress based? When may he adjourn Congress? 
On what occasions may he call extra sessions? What is the Presi- 
dent's most common duty? Who may be impeached? 

ARTICLE III.— THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Section 1. — The United States Courts 

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may, from 
time to time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme 
and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior; and 
shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation which 
shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

115. Their Necessity. — One of the fatal defects of the 
Articles of Confederation was that the United States 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 97 

had no judiciary. The laws of Congress were applied 
and interpreted by thirteen different and independent 
courts, from which much contradiction and confusion 
proceeded. Frequently the laws were not enforced at 
all, or — what was worse — power not granted by them 
was usurped by the rulers. Accordingly a Federal 
judiciary was established. It was made coordinate 
with the legislative and executive departments, and 
independent of them in everything except the appoint- 
ment of judges. It is not possible for Congress or the 
President to usurp powers not granted them by the 
Constitution, nor can the States suspend the operations 
of the Union. Montesquieu once said: "There is no 
liberty if the judiciary be not separated from the legis- 
lative and executive powers." His ideal was realized 
in the Constitution of the United States. 

116. The United States Courts. — In addition to the 
Supreme Court, established by the Constitution, Con- 
gress has, by law, created certain inferior courts : dis- 
trict courts, circuit courts of appeal, the court of claims, 
the court of customs appeals, the commerce court. 

117. The District Courts. — Every State has at least 
one district court; the larger ones have as many as 
four. Usually one judge is appointed for each dis- 
trict. There are about eighty districts in the United 
States. 

118. Circuit Court of Appeals. — There are nine cir- 
cuits in the United States, each including several 
States, and each having a circuit court of appeal 
regularly presided over by judges, from two to four in 
number. To each court is allotted also a justice of 
the Supreme Court, who, when present, is to preside. 



98 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

119. The Court of Customs Appeals and the Com- 
merce Court. — The former is a court of five judges that 
hears appeals about the duties imposed on imported 
goods. The commerce court hears appeals from the 
Interstate Commerce Commission. Its five judges 
are selected periodically from among the circuit 
judges at an additional salary of $1,500 per annum. 

120. The Supreme Court. — The Supreme Court holds 
its annual sessions in the Capitol at Washington, begin- 
ning the second Monday in October. It consists at 
present of nine justices — one chief justice and eight asso- 
ciate justices — any six of whom constitute a quorum 
for the transaction of business. The decision of a 
majority of the quorum stands as the decision of the 
court, although frequently the dissenting opinion of a 
member or members of the minority is handed down. 

121. The Court of Claims. — As it is a rule of govern- 
ments that they cannot be sued without their consent, 
Congress, in 1855, established the Court of Claims, in 
which suits may be brought against the United States. 
If this court holds a claim to be valid Congress may, 
and usually does, make an appropriation to pay the 
claim. 

122. Other Courts. — Other courts have been estab- 
lished by Congress, but their jurisdiction does not affect 
the whole United States. The courts of the District 
of Columbia have jurisdiction over civil and criminal 
matters in the District. 

123. The Territorial Courts. — These consist of a 
supreme court, district courts, and, in some instances, 
county courts, presided over by the judge of the district 
in which the county is located. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 99 

124. Consular Courts. — These are held by our consuls 
in foreign countries. The cases consist of trivial matters 
arising between Americans and foreigners in business 
transactions, of the administration of estates of Ameri- 
cans dying within the consular district, and of the 
settlement of disputes between officers of American 
vessels and their crews. 

125. Appointment of Judges. — All judges of the United 
States courts proper are appointed by the President, with 
the consent of the Senate, and they hold office during 
good behavior, which means for life. Any judge having 
served ten years may resign at the age of seventy, and 
receive full pay for life. The term of office in the District 
of Columbia and the Territories is four years. 

126. Compensation. — The compensation of the Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court is $15,000 per annum; of 
the associates, $14,500; of the circuit judges, $7,000; 
of the district judges, $6,000; of customs, $7,000. 

Questions on the Section. — What court was established by the 
Constitution? Name the inferior courts of the United States. 
Name the other courts formed by Congress. Why must Congress 
not diminish the salaries of judges during their continuance in office? 
Why does the prohibition not extend to an increase? 

Section 2. — Jurisdiction of the United States 

Courts 

Clause 1. The judicial powers shall extend to all cases, in law 
and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United 
States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their 
authority; — to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, 
and consuls; — to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; — 
to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; — to 
controversies between two or more States; — between a State and 
citizens of another State; between citizens of different States; be- 



100 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

tween citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of 
different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and 
foreign states., citizens or subjects. 

Cl. 2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers 
and consuls, and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme 
Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases before 
mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, 
both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regula- 
tions as the Congress shall make. 

Cl. 3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, 
shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the 
said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed 
within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the 
Congress may by law have directed. 



127. Test for Jurisdiction. — The jurisdiction of the 
United States courts is determined by the nature of the 
case or by the nature of the parties. If the nature of the 
case involves the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the 
United States, jurisdiction is established no matter who 
the parties may be. If the nature of the parties involves 
ambassadors, consuls, the United States, two or more 
States, citizens of different States, etc., jurisdiction is 
established no matter what the nature of the case may be. 

128. Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. — The original 
jurisdiction of this court is confined to matters affecting 
foreign countries and the States of our own country. 
Necessarily such cases are very important. Its appellate 
jurisdiction extends to all the inferior United States 
courts, as well as to State courts in certain cases. Ap- 
peals from a State court are allowed only when the 
Supreme Court of that State has rendered a decision that 
is claimed to be in violation of the Federal Constitution 
or some Federal law or treaty. 

The function of pronouncing upon the constitutionality 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 101 

of a law of Congress was first exercised by the Supreme 
Court in 1803, the opinion being delivered by Chief 
Justice Marshall. He showed that unless the Supreme 
Court could set aside a law conflicting with the Constitu- 
tion, Congress would be unrestrained in the use of the 
legislative power. This court may even take exception 
to the Constitution or laws of a State when repugnant to 
the Federal Constitution. Laws declared unconstitu- 
tional are null and void and cannot be enforced. Laws 
are sometimes in force for years before they are declared 
unconstitutional, because a law in the abstract cannot 
be brought before a court to test its constitutionality. 
The test must be made in connection with the trial of 
a case. 

129. Jurisdiction of the Circuit Court of Appeals. — 
This court reviews by appeal decisions of the district 
courts, except in cases which may be taken direct to 
the Supreme Court. There is no appeal from it in 
patent, copyright, revenue, criminal and admiralty 
cases. 

130. Jurisdiction of the Court of Customs Appeals 
and the Commerce Court. — The former shall have final 
appellate jurisdiction to review decisions respecting 
the classification of merchandise and the duty im- 
posed on it, as well as the fees and charges connected 
therewith. The decisions of the commerce court may 
be appealed to the Supreme Court. 

131. Jurisdiction of the District Courts. — It em- 
braces all crimes and offenses against the authority of 
the United States, admiralty and maritime cases, 
bankruptcy proceedings, suits for penalties, and civil 
cases in general under Federal jurisdiction. 



102 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

132. Concurrent Jurisdiction of the United States and 
State Courts. — While, as a rule, the United States and 
State courts have exclusive jurisdiction in certain classes 
of cases, there maybe instances of concurrent jurisdiction. 
A citizen of a State may sue a citizen of another State in 
the courts of the other State, if he prefers. However, 
if the defendant shall base the defense on a United States 
law he may have it removed to a Federal court. Where 
there are both Federal and State laws, as against counter- 
feiting, the plaintiff may likewise exercise his preference; 
also in cases under the postal laws and State laws in- 
volving the United States Constitution. But no State 
court has final jurisdiction if by its construction of a 
Federal law it in any way abridges Federal authority. 

133. " Law and Fact." — When a case is appealed the 
Supreme Court may review both the law and the facts, 
that is, the law and the evidence; but the witnesses them- 
selves are not present, nor is there a jury sitting. The 
whole case is brought before the appellate court by means 
of a printed record of the proceedings in the lower court. 
From this record and the lawyer's arguments, the ap- 
pellate court makes up its decision. 

A case may also be brought before the appellate court 
by a writ of error, which calls only for a review of the 
law; that is, the judge's decisions and charge to the jury, 
in the inferior court. 

134. " Law and Equity." — Equity is applied to cases 
for which the law has no remedy. To try such cases 
separate courts used to exist here and in England; but 
now the courts of law try cases of equity too, except in 
a few of the Southern States. The most common service 
of a court of equity is to prevent wrongdoing — as the 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 103 

granting of injunctions—and to give relief for a wrong 
already inflicted, as the relief from fraud in bargains. 

Questions on the Section. — To what shall the judicial power 
extend? What courts have jurisdiction of crimes on board American 
ships? Recite the authority for your answer. Can a foreign nation 
sue a State in the United States courts? In what event may two 
citizens of the same State have a case in the United States court? 
To what is the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court limited? 
Its appellate jurisdiction extends to what? How must the trial of 
all crimes be conducted? What exception is made? Where must 
such trials be held? Where would a pirate or a mutineer be tried? 

Section 3. — Treason 

Clause 1. Treason against the United States shall consist only 
in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving 
them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or 
on confession in open court. 

Cl. 2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment 
of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, 
or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted. 

135. Definition of Treason. — There are but few defini- 
tions in the Constitution. That of treason is one of them. 
If there were many the Constitution would have been 
amended much more than it has been, for definitions are 
fixed and unyielding. 

136. Punishment of Treason. — When the Constitution 
of the United States was made the laws against treason 
in some countries were barbarous. They permitted in- 
describable horrors to be practiced, such as disembowel- 
ing, beheading, and quartering of the traitor, after he had 
forfeited his life on the gallows. Nor was this all the 
punishment. He forfeited all his property to the Gov- 
ernment, both what he then had and what might come 



104 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

to him by inheritance, and his heirs could never get any 
of it. Such destruction of inheritable qualities is known 
as "corruption of blood." Our punishment for treason 
is death, or, at the discretion of the court, fine and 
imprisonment. 

Questions on the Section. — Define treason. Was the Whisky 
Rebellion treason? What had Aaron Burr done to make him appear 
guilty of treason? Blennerhassett? What are the conditions for 
conviction of treason? Will a confession to a witness convict? 
How long may the Government hold the property of a traitor in 
forfeiture? 

ARTICLE IV.— THE STATES AND TERRITORIES 

Section 1.— Official Acts 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And 
the Congress may by general laws, prescribe the manner in which 
such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect 
thereof. 

137. To Make the Union More Perfect.— In order to 
prevent the States from becoming involved in confusion 
and litigation the official acts of one State shall be ac- 
cepted in another, as if they were its own official acts. 
A judgment rendered in a court in Pennsylvania is 
ground for an action of debt in the State of New 
York. A will duly recorded in one State, if it affects 
property in another, must be accepted in the other 
when it' comes to the disposition of such property. 
Public acts, that is, legislative acts, are proved by hav- 
ing the State's seal attached. Court records are proved 
by the seal of the court and the signature of the clerk 
and judge. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE V NIT ED STATES 105 

Section 2. — Privileges op Citizens 

Clause 1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

Cl. 2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or 
other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another 
State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from 
which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having 
jurisdiction of the crime. 

Cl. 3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the 
laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law 
or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but 
shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or 
labor may be due. 

138. Discriminations Not Permissible. — No State is 
permitted to discriminate against the citizens of other 
States, as one nation may against the citizens of another. 
No passports can be required, ownership of property 
cannot be denied, justice cannot be withheld, no exclusive 
legislation can be passed, etc.; but no special privileges 
or immunities of one's own State can be secured in other 
States by this provision. The fact that a woman can 
vote in Colorado does not give her the right to vote in a 
State where women are not allowed to vote. A license 
to practice medicine in one State need not be accepted in 
another. It is only the privileges and immunities which 
belong to us as citizens of the United States that can- 
not be abridged by a State. 

139. Extradition. — When a criminal escapes from the 
State which has jurisdiction over his crime into another 
State, an indictment or complaint under oath is laid 
before the Governor of the former State; and he is in duty 
bound to issue a demand, called a requisition, accom- 
panied by the indictment or affidavit, on the Governor 



106 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

of the latter State, for the arrest and delivery of the 
criminal. The arrest can be made before the requisition 
is honored, but his delivery to the accredited officer 
must await action on the requisition. 

Extradition between this country and foreign countries 
is regulated by treaty, the States having nothing to do 
with fugitives from abroad. The Secretary of State 
makes out the extradition papers. 

140. Fugitive Slaves.— The first law of Congress on this 
question was passed in 1793; the second, which was much 
more drastic, was a part of the Compromise of 1850. 
By the latter the return of a fugitive slave was secured 
from a United States commissioner; while under the law 
of 1793 the local magistrate decided that question. 

Questions on Sections 1 and 2.— Why must a divorce legally 
granted by one State be recognized in another? By whose authority 
are laws made for proving State official acts? Can runaway ap- 
prentices be returned from other States? A member of a " chain- 
gang"? What department of a State government shall return 
fugitive criminals? 

Section 3. — New States and Territories 

Clause 1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into 
this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the 
jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junc- 
tion of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of 
the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

Cl. 2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make 
all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other 
property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Con- 
stitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the 
United States, or of any particular State. 

141. Requirements for Admission of New States. -r- 
When the Constitution was adopted it was evident that 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 107 

new Stales would have to be admitted. The vast regions 
between the Appalachians and the Mississippi were al- 
ready partly organized under a territorial government, 
and settlements were rapidly spreading from the Lakes 
to the Gulf. A Territory need not have any required 
population for admission. Politics has more to do with 
it than population; yet a Territory has better chances for 
admission when it has a population equal to the ratio of 
apportionment (see p. 45) or more. However, Nevada 
got into the Union, in 1864, with a population of half the 
ratio of apportionment; and Oklahoma was refused w r ith 
a population of more than double the ratio. 

142. Method of Admission. — It is usual for Congress to 
pass an " enabling act" authorizing the people of the 
Territory to frame and adopt a constitution, and pro- 
viding for the admission of the State by proclamation 
of the President. Sometimes the Territory takes the 
first step by framing a constitution, and, with this in 
hand, applying for admission. In either case Congress 
must see to it that the new State shall have a republican 
form of government. 

143. Division of States. — The States formed by means 
of a division of other States are Maine and West Virginia. 
In the case of the latter the Legislature of old Virginia 
never gave its consent. After Virginia had seceded, in 
1861, the forty-eight counties in western Virginia that 
remained loyal to the Union w r ere organized as the State 
of West Virginia. It was claimed that Virginia having 
placed herself outside the Constitution by the act of 
secession the only legislative body within the State was 
that at Wheeling, which consented to the organization 
of the new State, and that the Constitution had therefore 



108 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

been complied with. Texas, by the conditions of its 
admission, may be divided into five States at the will 
of its people. 

144. The Government of Territories. — This is either of 
the organized or the unorganized form. In the organized 
Territory the Governor or other executive officers, and 
generally the judges, are appointed by the President. 
The Legislature is elected by the people in districts. Its 
laws must be approved by Congress. The people-do not 
participate in national affairs beyond sending a delegate 
to Congress, who may debate but not vote. The organ- 
ized Territories at present (1910) are Hawaii, Porto 
Rico, and the Philippines. 

The unorganized, or lower form, through which most 
Territories passed before they were fully organized, pro- 
vides only for an executive and a judiciary or a council. 
There being no Legislature, the executive and judiciary 
or council have joint legislative powers. Alaska is an 
unorganized Territory. 

Our Samoan Islands, the Philippines, and others in 
that part of the world belonging to the United States, 
are known as our " insular possessions. " A new classi- 
fication of Territories was made by a decision of the 
Supreme Court: one forming "a part of " the United 
States — Alaska; and those "belonging to" the L^nited 
States — Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Philippines, Guam, 
the Sulu Islands, and our Samoan Islands. 

145. Origin of the Territories. — The lands ceded to 
the United States by certain States after the Revolu- 
tion gave rise to the Territory. They comprised the 
present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 109 

Wisconsin, and a part of Minnesota. Most of the pro- 
ductive land secured at that time, and all since obtained 
by annexation, has been sold to settlers, given to rail- 
roads, schools, and colleges, and reserved for parks, 
forestry, and Indian tribes. 

Section 4. — Protection of the States 

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or of the 
Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against 
domestic violence. 

146. A Republican Form of Government. — As long as 
the Senators and Representatives of a State are admitted 
to Congress the republican character of that State is 
thereby admitted. So if a State ceased to be republican 
in fol*m representation in Congress could be denied to 
it as a first remedy. When the old " Charter" govern- 
ment of Rhode Island (see p. 21), in 1842, at the time of 
"Dorr's Rebellion/ ' proclaimed martial law throughout 
the State, a case arose which finally reached the Supreme 
Court. Chief Justice Taney then said: "A military gov- 
ernment set up as a permanent government of the State 
would not be a republican government and it would be 
the duty of Congress to overthrow it." A hereditary 
governorship would evidently not be republican; but as 
judges are elected for life, a life tenure in the governor- 
ship might not be considered as unrepublican. 

147. Federal Protection Without Application from the 
State. — In case violence breaks out in a State and inter- 
feres with the operation of the United States laws, the 



110 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

President may send troops without a call for aid. In 
1894 there was a riot in Chicago, by which the movement 
of mails and interstate commerce was interfered with. 
To carry out the Federal laws governing the mails and 
interstate commerce, President Cleveland sent troops to 
Chicago, when the Governor of Illinois declined to ask 
for them. 

Questions on Sections 3 and 4. — Have ever any States been 
"formed by the junction of two or more States"? Have ever parts 
of States been added to other States? How must all such divisions 
be made? What is meant by " other property' ' in Section 3, Clause 
2? Which gets the money realized by the sale of public lands in the 
Territories before and after they become States — the United States 
or the States? When must the President wait for a call for aid 
(Sect. 4)? 

ARTICLE V.— AMENDMENTS 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on 
the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States. 
shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either 
case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Con- 
stitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the 
several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one 
or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; 
provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year 
one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect 
the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; 
and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal 
suffrage in the Senate. 

148. Two Methods of Proposing and Ratifying Amend- 
ments. — While amendments may be proposed in two 
ways and ratified in two ways, so far all have been 
proposed and ratified by the first of the two methods de- 
scribed in the article, that is to say; Congress has framed 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 111 

and proposed the amendments, and the State legislatures 
have ratified them, because it is the most convenient 
way. The Constitution itself was framed in a convention 
and ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the States. 
The consent of the President is not necessary for the 
proposal of amendments by Congress. 

149. " Equal Suffrage in the Senate." — The Constitu- 
tion may be amended so as to allow but one Senator or 
three or four or any other number to each State without 
the consent of every State; but to deprive a particular 
State — Nevada, for instance — of one or both of its Sena- 
tors it must give its consent. As Nevada is not likely to 
agree to such a step it cannot be reduced to a Territory 
or annexed to an adjoining State, but will continue its 
separate existence, with its Senators representing but a 
handful of people (42,000) compared with the population 
of New York State (7,268,000). 

150. Amendments Proposed and Ratified. — Some 1,700 
amendments have been proposed in Congress, but only 
nineteen received support enough to be submitted to the 
States for ratification. Of the nineteen, fifteen have 
been ratified. Among the amendments proposed but 
not further acted on, the most important ones were those 
assuring the constitutionality of the Louisiana Purchase, 
authorizing Congress to make internal improvements, 
dealing with slavery before the Civil War, establishing 
woman's suffrage, providing for election of United States 
Senators by a popular vote, and amending the Preamble 
so as to include a recognition of Almighty God. Strictly 
speaking the Constitution has been amended only four 
times. The first ten amendments went into force in 
1791, the eleventh in 1798, the twelfth in 1804, and the 



112 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth in 1865, 1868, and 
1870 respectively. The first ten, called "the Bill of 
Rights/ ' were really not a change of the Constitution, 
but a "postscript" to it. The last three, known as 
the "War Amendments/' secured and made permanent 
the results of the Civil War. It is a great compli- 
ment to the framers of the Constitution that it has 
been changed so little in the course of more than a 
century. 

Questions on the Article. — What kind of vote is required in 
Congress to propose an amendment? How many States must call 
for a convention to propose amendments? How many States must 
ratify either by legislatures or conventions? What parts of the 
Constitution cannot be amended? 

ARTICLE VI.— GENERAL PROVISIONS , 

Clause 1. — All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, 
before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the 
United States under this Constitution as under the Confederation. 

Cl. 2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States 
which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or 
which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, 
shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State 
shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any 
State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Cl. 3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and 
the members of the several State legislatures, and all executive 
and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several 
States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Consti- 
tution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification 
to any office or public trust under the United States. 

IS i. Revolutionary Debts. — It is a principle of public 
law that a nation cannot avoid paying its debts by 
changing the form of its government. By asserting this 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES tl3 

principie in the Constitution, with reference to the 
debts that the Continental Congress had incurred at 
home and abroad, much opposition to the adoption of 
the Constitution was avoided. 

152. Supremacy of the Constitution. — The Constitu- 
tion and the laws and treaties made by virtue of its 
powers are the supreme law of the land. But it should 
be remembered that this supremacy extends only to the 
powers delegated to the United States (see p. 61), and 
that it is only within the domain of those powers that 
the United States authority is supreme. States within 
their powers are just as supreme as the United States is 
within its powers. For instance, Congress has power to 
regulate commerce among the States, but it has no power 
over commerce wholly within a State. 

153. The Oath of Office.— The oath implies conscience 
on the part of him that takes it, but not religion, either 
formal or real. So when an officeholder takes the oath 
to support the Constitution, the obligation to do what 
he promises to do rests on his conscience. The Mormon 
Congressman was not debarred from membership in the 
House of Representatives because of his religion; such 
disqualification would have been contrary to the Con- 
stitution, and members voting against his admission on 
religious grounds would have violated their oath. He 
was kept out of Congress because of the evidence that he 
was a polygamist. 

Questions on the Article. — What constitutes the supreme law 
of the land? What must a judge do with a State law that is contrary 
to the supreme law of the land? What officials must take the oath? 
and what do they pledge themselves to do thereby? What sort of 
test is forbidden? Why? 



114 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 



ARTICLE VII.— RATIFICATION OF THE 
CONSTITUTION 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient 
for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so 
ratifying the same. 

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the States 
present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of 
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, 
and of the independence of the United States of America 
the twelfth. 
In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
President j and Deputy from Virginia. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE 

John Langdon 
Nicholas Gilman 

MASSACHUSETTS 

Nathaniel Gorham 
Rufus King 

CONNECTICUT 



PENNSYLVANIA 

Benjamin Franklin 
Thomas Mifflin 
Robert Morris 
George Clymer 
Thomas Fitzsimons 
Jared Ingersoll 
James Wilson 
gouvernetjr morris 



William Samuel Johnson DELAWARE 
Roger Sherman 

NEW YORK 
Alexander Hamilton 

NEW JERSEY 

William Livingston 
David Brearley 
William Paterson 
Jonathan Dayton 



George Read 
Gunning Bedford, Jr. 
John Dickinson 
Richard Bassett 
Jacob Broom 

MARYLAND 

James M' Henry 
Daniel of St. Thcmas 

Jenifer 
Daniel Carroll 



VIRGINIA 

John Blair 

James Madison, Jr. 



NORTH CAROLINA 

William Blount 
Richard Dobbs Spaight 
Hugh Williamson 



SOUTH CAROLINA 

John Rutledge 
Charles C. Pinckney 
Charles Pinckney 
Pierce Butler 



GEORGIA 

William Few 
Abraham Baldwin 



Attest: WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 



154. The Establishment of the Constitution. — The Con- 
stitution was submitted to the Congress, under the 
Articles of Confederation, September 20, 1787. That 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 115 

body, after subjecting the document to a heavy fire of 
criticism for eight days, sent it to the State legislatures, 
to be by them submitted to conventions for ratification 
(see p. 35). When it had been so ratified by the required 
number of States, June 21, 1788, the Congress passed a 
resolution that the new government should go into effect 
on the first Wednesday m March, 1789, which day hap- 
pened to be the fourth of March. The Congress, under ] 
the Constitution, afterwards passed a law designating \ 
March 4th as the beginning of a presidential and con- 
gressional term. 

155. The Signers. — There were sixty-five delegates 
chosen to the convention. Ten did not attend, sixteen 
declined or failed to sign, and thirty-nine signed. , 

Questions on the Article. — Which State had most delegates in 
the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ? Why? Why should Delaware 
have had more than Massachusetts? How many States had to ratify 
it? When was the Constitution finished? 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 
Articles I-X. — The "Bill of Rights " 

156. Its Origin and Nature.— The "Bill of Rights" has 
much resemblance to the English Bill of Rights, an act 
of Parliament passed in 1689, and assented to by William 
and Mary on taking the throne. Some of its principles 
are found in the Magna Charta and in the Petition of 
Right presented to Charles I. The English Bill of Rights 
was a concession made by the king to the people. As 
in a* republic all rights belong to the people, the framers 
of the Constitution did not think it necessary to insert a 
bill of rights, But when the Constitution was before 



]16 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

the States for ratification so many people objected to 
the omission that the leading statesmen of the country- 
promised to have the matter remedied as soon as the 
new government would be in operation. 

The State constitutions, too, as a rule, contain a bill 
of rights. Virginia's first constitution, made just before 
the Declaration of Independence, was the pioneer in 
this matter. 

It should be borne in mind that the "Bill of Rights " 
in the Federal Constitution does not lay restrictions on 
the States, but on the United States. In the Girard 
College case the Supreme Court said, in reference to the 
provision of his will that no minister of the Gospel should 
ever be admitted to the grounds, that the validity of 
such a rule depended on "what the State constitutions 
and laws and decisions necessarily required." 

Article I. — Religion, Speech, the Press, and 

Petitions 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom 
of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably 
to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of 
grievances. 

157. Freedom of Religion. — This cannot be had where 
there is a state church; for the people that do not belong 
to it may nevertheless be taxed to support it, while its 
members are thereby favored. A taxpayer might thus 
be induced to join the state church against his preference. 
There is also danger that "an establishment of religion' J 
may interfere with the free exercise of religion in other 
ways. This amendment does not serve as justification 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 117 

for a crime, on the ground that it was committed in 
accordance with a religious belief. 

158. Freedom of Speech and the Press. — These cher- 
ished liberties do not imply that one cannot be punished 
for slander and libel. Only so long as what is said or 
printed does not result in crime or damage is freedom 
guaranteed. The Alien and Sedition laws were con- 
sidered by many people to be a violation of the freedom 
of speech and of the press. 

Article II. — The Right to Bear Arms 

A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free 
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be 
infringed. 

159. The Right Important, — If the people were de- 
prived of the right to keep and bear arms they would be 
lacking in preparation for war. Furthermore, it used to 
be a favorite means with arbitrary rulers to enslave their 
subjects by forbidding the keeping and bearing of arms. 
But while a person may go about in our country with 
a gun or other deadly weapon in the hand, he is not 
allowed to carry concealed deadly weapons. However, 
this is not forbidden by Congress, but by the States. 

Article III. — Quartering Soldiers 

No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any house, with- 
out the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner 
to be prescribed by law. 

Article IV. — The Right to Search 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 



118 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, sup. 
ported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place 
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

160. "A Man's House is His Castle."— A castle is a 
fortified house; but a man's house nowadays is not forti- 
fied. The law is now the wall that surrounds a man's 
house. 

The right to search is most frequently exercised by the 
Federal Government in the execution of its revenue laws. 
A "reasonable search 7 ' is one made, for instance, for 
stolen goods, for goods attached for debt, for dutiable 
articles, and for a person liable to arrest. But no search 
for goods can be made on a man's premises without a 
search warrant; nor for a person without a warrant for 
his arrest. 

Articles V and VI. — Rights of Persons Accused 

of Crime 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise in- 
famous, crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand 
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor 
shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in 
jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal 
case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, 
or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property 
be taken for public use, without just compensation. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a 
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall 
have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the 
nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the wit- 
nesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining wit- 
nesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsej for his 
defense. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 119 

161. The Accused Innocent Until Proven Guilty. — The 

numerous safeguards thrown around a person accused 
of crime are all based on the principle that he is supposed 
to be innocent until proven guilty. The law does not 
presume him guilty and make him prove his innocence. 
Therefore he can be tried only after a grand jury ex- 
amines the evidence against him and decides that it is 
sufficient to hold him for trial. 

162. "Infamous Crime." — A test of an infamous crime 
other than a capital crime is found in the fact that the 
punishment is for a term of years at hard labor, but the 
practice is for the United States grand juries to act on 
all crimes submitted to them. 

1630 "Without Due Process of Law." — In the court 
these words have reference to the rules and principles 
established by custom and law for the protection and 
enforcement of private rights. A person sentenced to 
imprisonment for an infamous crime without having 
been presented or indicted by a grand jury is deprived of 
his liberty "without due process of law." The seizure 
of a man's private books and papers, thus compelling 
him to be a witness against himself, is also a violation of 
'due process of law." A tax law that is not uniform, 
requiring one person to pay more than another propor- 
tionately, is taking property without " due process of 
law." The so-called "lynch law" is a most flagrant 
violation of the legal process of depriving a man of his 
life. 

Article VII. — Jury Trial in Civil Suits 

In saits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, 
and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any 



120 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common 
law, 

164. " Suits at Common Law." — Herein are embraced 
"all suits which are not of equity and admiralty jurisdic- 
tion." In Clause 3, Section 2, Article III, it says that 
" the trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment^ 
shall be by jury." For fear that this provision would be 
construed so as to exclude civil cases from trial by jury 
the Seventh Amendment was added. 

165. " The Rules of the Common Law ,? in Appeals. — 
By the common law a higher court can reverse decisions 
of a lower court only when errors in the law have been 
committed. The facts, or the evidence, if appearing out 
of reason with the verdict of the jury, must be reex- 
amined in the lower court by means of a new trial. 

Article VIIL— Excessive Bail, Fines, etc. 

Excessive bail shall not be required nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

166. What is Excessive. — The amount of bail depends 
on the gravity of the crime, the means of the prisoner, 
and the minimum fixed by law. Excessive bail defeats 
the very purpose of bail, which is not to treat the prisoner 
as guilty before hehas been convicted. Excessive fines, 
especially in lieu of imprisonment, are equally unjust and 
burdensome. 

167. "Cruel and Unusual Punishments." — Cruelty in 
punishment is difficult to determine. Torturing end 
maiming are now universally agreed to be cruel ; flogging 
is not. However, flogging is unusual. When a punish- 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 121 

ment is both cruel and unusual it is unconstitutional. 
Electrocution is unusual, but is not held to be cruel. 

Articles IX and X. — Reserved Rights and Powers 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respec- 
tively, or to the people. 

1 68. Not All Rights Possible of Enumeration. — As it 

was not possible to enumerate all the rights of the people 
it was thought prudent to state that such as are not 
enumerated should not therefore be denied or dispar- 
aged; for instance, the right to establish schools. 

169. " Or to the People." — Whatever powers are not 
incorporated in the Constitution of the United States or 
in the constitutions of the States belong to the people. 
For instance, the power to build and operate railroads 
has not been given either to the United States or to the 
States, so it still belongs to the people. 

Questions on Amendments I to X. — What does the first amend- 
ment prohibit? What kind of state needs a militia? Why? When shall 
a soldier not be quartered in a house without the owner's consent? 
How is the matter regulated in time of war? What things are 
secured against search? On what conditions shall a warrant issue? 
What must it describe? What is a capital crime? What kind of 
offenses need not be brought before a grand jury? How many times 
can a person be put in jeopardy of life or limb? Under what cir- 
cumstances would a person choose to be tried again after conviction? 
May a prisoner appear as a witness in his own trial? Of what can a 
person not be deprived without due process of law? How may 
private property be taken? For what purpose? What kind of 
trial is a criminal entitled to? What kind of jury? Of what must 
be be informed before trial? Can he be confronted with the testi- 



122 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

mony of a dying person? How does he get unwilling witnesses? 
Can he be tried without counsel? In what kind of civil cases is a 
jury trial guaranteed? 

Article XI. — The Judicial Power Abridged 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted 
against any of the United States by citizens of another State, or by 
citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

170. Occasion of Its Adoption.— This amendment was 
brought about by the fact that a citizen of South Caro- 
lina, in 1792, sued the State of Georgia in the United 
States Supreme Court, basing his right to do so on Sec- 
tion 2, Article III, where it says that the judicial power 
"shall extend to controversies between a State and 
citizens of another State. " When the people learned 
that it was possible for a State to be brought into the 
United States court by a citizen of another State without 
the consent of the former State (see p. 98), they demanded 
the amendment. 

Questions on the Amendment. — Can a State sue another State in 
the United States courts? If so, in which one? What classes of 
people cannot sue a State in this way? Can one foreign nation sue 
another? If not, what's the remedy? 

Article XII.* — The Election of President and 

Vice-President 

171. Occasion of Its Adoption. — According to the 
original clause providing for the election of President and 
Vice-President, the candidate getting the highest number 
of electoral votes was to be President; and the one receiv- 

* For the text of this amejidmeat, see p. §Q. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 123 

ing the next highest was to be Vice-President, provided 
each had a majority of all the votes in the Electoral Col- 
lege. In 1800 both Jefferson and Burr had received a ma- 
jority, but each had the same number of votes. Thus the 
election was thrown into the House, where it took thirty- 
six ballots, extending through a period of seven days, to 
elect Jefferson and Burr. The country was in such a 
state of excitement that there was danger of civil war. 
To prevent the recurrence of such conditions the Twelfth 
Amendment was adopted, requiring that the electoral 
votes must be cast separately for President and Vice- 
President. 

Articles XIII-XV. — The War Amendments 

172. Their Necessity. — For sixty years after the 
Twelfth Amendment was made, in 1804, the Constitu- 
tion stood still. But the Civil War made amendment 
necessary, in order to establish permanently the freedom 
of the slave race and give protection to the newly made 
freeman and citizen. 

Article XIII. — Slavery Abolished 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except 
as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject 
to their jurisdiction, 

Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

173. A Final Abolition. — Slavery had already been 
abolished by Congress in the District of Columbia and the 
Territories. President Lincoln had freed the slaves 
January 1, 1863, in all States and parts of States where 



124 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

the people were then in armed rebellion against the Gov- 
ernment of the United States; but his proclamation did 
not free the slaves in other States and parts of States. 
Nor did he abolish the institution of slavery anywhere; he 
simply freed the people then in slavery in some places. 
So in order to free the slaves everywhere and prevent 
the reestablishment of slavery anywhere the Thirteenth 
Amendment was passed. 

This amendment prohibits every form of involuntary 
servitude, in which are included Mexican peonage and 
the Chinese coolie trade. 

Questions on the Sections. — What exception is made to involun- 
tary servitude? Does the amendment have force in our "insular 
possessions"? Why was the second section added to the amend- 
ment? 

Article XIV. — Citizenship, Personal Rights, etc. 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United 
States, and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make 
or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities 
of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person 
of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to 
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Sec. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States, according to their respective numbers, counting the whole 
number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But 
when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for 
President and Vice President of the United States, representatives 
in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the 
members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens 
of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation 
in rebellion or other crimes, the basis of representation shall be 
reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens 
shall bear to the whole number of male citizens, twenty-one years 
of age, in such State. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 125 

Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Con- 
gress or elector of President or Vice President, or hold any office, civil 
or military under the United States or under any State, who having 
previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer 
of the United States, or as a member of any State Legislature, or as 
an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Con- 
stitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or 
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each house 
remove such disability. 

Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions 
and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, 
shall not be questioned. But neither the United States, nor any 
State, shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of 
insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for 
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, 
and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce by appropriate 
legislation the provisions of this article. 

174. Definition of Citizenship. — The Fourteenth 
Amendment contains another one of the few definitions 
in the Constitution (see p. 103), namely, that of citizen- 
ship. By the decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred 
Scott case no negro, bond or free, could be or become a 
citizen of the United States. As that decision, unless 
reversed by the Supreme Court at a later time, would 
have been the supreme law of the land ever after, a defi- 
nition of citizenship making the Dred Scott decision null 
and void was incorporated in the Fourteenth Amendment. 

175. What a State Shall Not Abridge.— It should.be 
noticed that in the first ten. amendments the United 
States is prohibited from encroaching upon certain rights 
of. the people. In the last three the States are prohibited 
from encroaching upon certain rights of the people. The 
"privileges and immunities" referred to here are those 



126 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

which a person has as a citizen of the United States, not 
as a citizen of a State. For instance, no State shall 
abridge the right to plead in the United States courts, to 
share in the offices of the United States, to become a 
citizen of another State, to use the navigable waters of 
the country, to go abroad and enjoy there the protection 
guaranteed to American citizens by treaty or otherwise, 
etc. 

176. Parts Inoperative. — The first sentence in Section 
2 is an amendment to Clause 3, Section 2, Article I (see p. 
41). The second sentence, it is believed, is made inopera- 
tive by the Fifteenth Amendment, which altogether for- 
bids the denial of the franchise on certain grounds and 
evidently permits the denial on other grounds. It would 
seem inconsistent for the Fourteenth Amendment indi- 
rectly to sanction what is forbidden and indirectly to 
punish what is permitted in the Fifteenth. There are no 
longer any persons living on whom Section 3 can operate, 
for all Confederates still living have had their disabili- 
ties removed as prescribed in the section. 

177. Civil War Debts. — The fear that Congress might 
some day attempt to question any of the debts in- - 
curred by the United States during the Civil War, or to 
assume the debts incurred by the Confederate States, 
was the reason for adopting Section 4, in the Four- 
teenth Amendment. 

Questions on the Sections. — : Define a citizen of the United States. 
Is a child of a foreign minister and born in this country, a citizen? 
What must a State secure to a person not a citizen? How are 
Representatives apportioned? What debts of the United States 
shall not be questioned? What debts shall not be assumed? What 
prohibitions are laid on the States in regard to debts and claims 
arising out of the Civil War? 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 127 
Article XV.— As to the Right to Vote 

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any 
State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Sec. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

178. Voting a Political Right. — The right to vote is not 
a civil right, like those, for instance, designated in the 
Declaration of Independence as "unalienable." It is 
classed with the political rights, those which are allowed 
to individuals in the government, like the right to hold 
office, to serve as a juror, etc. 

179. The States Grant the Right to Vote.— The Fif- 
teenth Amendment does not confer the right to vote on 
anyone; that power belongs to the States. It merely 
prohibits the States from discriminating against any- 
body " on account of race, color, or previous condition 
of servitude." In all the States which had the words 
"white man" as a qualification for voting in their con- 
stitution when the amendment went into effect, the Fif- 
teenth Amendment did indirectly give the negro the 
right to vote. 

Questions on the Section, — Can a State grant the right to a per- 
son not a citizen? Can a State deny the right on account of sex? 
Can a State deny the right to a Chinese as such? 



CHAPTER VI 

A COMPARISON OF GOVERNMENTS 

ENGLAND 

1. The Executive. — Nominally the King is the execu- 
tive; but practically the Cabinet conducts the govern- 
ment and is in reality the executive. The chief executive 
power was last exercised by the King in the time of the 
Stuarts. During their reigns Parliament had gained so 
much supremacy that when it offered the throne, made 
vacant by James II., to William and Mary, 1689, it did 
so only on condition that the new sovereigns would 
recognize it as the supreme power in the government. 
Since that time, except during the reign of George III., 
the Sovereign of England has had to content himself 
(or herself) with being an honored and more or less in- 
fluential hereditary councillor. The President of the 
United States has far more power than the Sovereign of 
Great Britain; but it is derived from the people and lim- 
ited in time and extent. The English Government, how- 
ever, pays liberally for its royal rule. The whole royal 
family receives annually about $4,000,000. 

2. Parliament. — Parliament had its origin in the an- 
cient shire-mote (see p. 19). When shires became con- 
solidated into kingdoms the legislative power of the 
shires was transferred to a wider representative body, 
called the " Witenagemote, ? ? or the Assembly of the Wise. 

128 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 129 

When William the Conqueror came to the throne the 
Witenagemote merged into the Great Council. The mem- 
bers of this body were not representatives elected by the 
people, as in the Witenagemote, but every man who held 
land under the King had a right to a seat. But as only 
great land owners, like the barons and bishops, would 
attend a national council, these at length became the 
exclusive members. Such was the composition of the 
Great Council until June 15, 1215, when King John 
reluctantly signed the Magna Charta at Runnymede. 
It was then that the principle of representation was 
revived. Commoners, as well as nobles and churchmen, 
were given seats in the national assembly. At first all 
these classes sat as one house; but as there was much 
difference of rank and station the commoners formed 
another house — the House of Commons. The nobles 
(" lords temporal") and the higher clergy ("lords spirit- 
ual") thenceforth constituted the House of Lords. 
These changes were completed in the fourteenth century. 

3. The House of Lords. — The membership of the House 
of Lords consists of English hereditary peers (dukes, 
marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons) and of the two 
archbishops and a number of bishops; of Scottish peers 
elected by the whole body of Scotch peers for the term 
of Parliament; of Irish peers elected by the peers of 
Ireland to sit for life; and of three judges appointed for 
life, known as Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. The total 
number of Lords — temporal and spiritual — is about 600. 
Peers can be created at will by the Crown. Two-thirds 
of the present number were created in the nineteenth 
century. 

The House of Lords, like the King, has much more 



130 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

nominal than real power. Its consent is necessary to 
every act of legislation; but it dares not to withhold it 
when the House of Commons has the unquestioned sup- 
port of the people on a measure. The House of Lords is 
also the supreme court of appeal in England; but this 
function is exercised by the Lord Chancellor, speaker of 
the House of Lords, assisted by the Lords of Appeal in 
Ordinary, and other Lords who are especially learned in 
the law. 

4. The House of Commons. — The members of the 
House of Commons are elected by counties, boroughs, 
and universities, in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The 
total number since 1885 has been 670, of which England 
elects about seventy-five per cent. The term is seven 
years; but no House of Commons has ever lived so long, 
for it has always been dissolved before the term expired. 
Any subject over twenty-one years of age is eligible to 
election, except clergymen, government contractors, sher- 
iffs, English and Scottish peers (certain Irish peers are), 
bankrupts, and elective officers. The members cannot 
resign their seats except when appointed to a position 
of honor and profit under the Crown, or are otherwise 
disqualified. 

5. The Sessions of Parliament. — There is at least one 
session a year, which lasts from the middle of February 
to the middle of August. The daily sessions begin at 
4 p.m. in the House of Commons and at 5 p.m. in the 
House of Lords, and frequently extend far into the night. 
They are practically night sessions. The Commons 
organize by electing one of their members Speaker. The 
choice must be nominally approved (which is always 
done) by the Crown. The Speaker does not debate,. but 



% 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 131 



simply presides, and no matter what his party affiliations 
are, his decisions must be absolutely non-partisan. In 
case of a tie he must give the casting vote. 

The House of Lords is permanently organized. The 
Lord Chancellor is Speaker by virtue of his office, and is 
therefore not chosen by the Lords, but by the Sovereign. 
He is not necessarily a peer, but if he is, he may leave the 
chair and speak. He has no casting vote; if the Lords 
are tied the question is lost. 

6. The Cabinet, Its Origin. — The Cabinet may be 
traced back to the Great Council, the successor to the 
Witenagemote (see p. 129). As that body met but three 
times a year, and at first was not composed of the same 
persons from year to year, the King kept about him con- 
stantly a select number of that body, an "inner circle/' 
for a permanent council. After Parliament, with its 
Lords and Commons, had succeeded the Great Council 
(see p. 129) another " inner circle/' called the Privy 
Council, whose members were bound to the King by an 
oath of secrecy and fidelity, was organized in the reign of 
Henry VI. But the expansion of the kingdom, in the 
course of time, made the Privy Council again too large 
for dispatch and secrecy. Hence a third " inner circle*" 
the Cabinet, was organized — so called because the King 
met its members in a small room, a " cabinet. " During 
the reign of the Stuarts the Cabinet began to draw to 
itself much executive power (see p. 128) and displaced, the 
Privy Council altogether. With the advent of William 
and Mary it assumed the position in the government 
which it now occupies. 

7. Th,e Cabinet at Present. — The Cabinet always con- 
sists of at least eleven ministers: the First Lord of the 



132 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Treasury, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the 
Council, the Lord Privy Seal, the Chancellor of the Ex- 
chequer, the five Secretaries of State, and the First Lord 
of the Admiralty. The Prime Minister is generally the 
First Lord of the Treasury. To these are added a num- 
ber of others. Some of the eleven enumerated date from 
the time of the Great Council (see p. 129). 

The Cabinet is of the same political complexion as the 
majority in the House of Commons. At the same time 
that its members administer the executive departments 
they frame and introduce all important bills and push 
these bills through Parliament, under the lead of the 
Prime Minister. The "Opposition" party also has its 
leader and tries to defeat the measures of the Ministry. 
Should the " Opposition" succeed in defeating an impor- 
tant bill or in passing a vote of censure, the Ministry has a 
choice between two courses. If it concludes that it has 
not "fallen" on "account of the disapproval of the people 
at large, it may advise the Sovereign to dissolve Parlia- 
ment and order the election of a new House of Commons. 
If the election is favorable to the existing Cabinet it 
remains in office — if not, the members resign forthwith. 
If the Cabinet resigns without a dissolution of Parliament 
a new Cabinet is appointed from the party which has 
shown itself strongest in the House of Commons. 

When the Sovereign has to appoint a new Cabinet he 
sends for the acknowledged leader of the party which has 
the majority in the House of Commons, and asks him to 
form a Ministry. He makes up a list from among the 
members of both Houses of Parliament, and recommends 
them to the King for appointment. The Ministers 
selected from the House of Commons must then resign 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 133 

(heir seals and seek a reflection. This election is a mere 
formality. 

8. The Judiciary. — The English judiciary consists of 
the House of Lords as a court of last resort; the Court 
of Appeal; the High Court of Justice, acting in three 
divisions, the Chancery, the King's Bench, and the 
Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division. County 
courts, whose jurisdiction extends not over counties but 
much smaller districts, and other local courts, administer 
justice in petty cases. 

9. The Constitution. — England has no written con- 
stitution. Her constitution was not made at one time 
and drawn up in articles and sections. It consists of 
long-established precedent, of the acts of Parliament, of 
great documents like the Magna Charta and the Bill of 
Rights, and of rules made by the courts of law. Hence 
Parliament may in theory change the constitution by a 
mere bill. Whenever a law is repealed the constitution 
is amended by the repeal. Parliament, not the con- 
stitution, as in our Government, is supreme. Parliament 
could abolish the Crown, the House of Lords, the House 
of Commons, and even itself. No court in England can 
declare a law unconstitutional, for every law is a part of 
the constitution. 

10. Local Government of England and Wales. — For 
purposes of local government, England and Wales are 
divided into counties, boroughs, urban and rural sanitary 
districts, poor-law parishes, unions, highway parishes, 
and school districts. In all of these the people have the 
advice and cooperation of the central Government, but 
are not controlled by it as in France (see p. 138). 

At the head of the county is the Lord Lieutenant, who 



134 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

represents the Crown. He nominates the justices of the 
peace to be appointed by the Lord Chancellor, a member 
of the Cabinet; otherwise the Lord Lieutenant's duties 
are nominal. The chief executive officer is the sheriff, 
who owes his appointment to the Crown. There is also 
an undersheriff, a coroner, a clerk of the peace, etc. 
The magistrates administer the criminal law, except in 
grave offenses, and license liquor sellers. The County 
Council is elected by the people, and its jurisdiction 
corresponds in general to that of our county commis- 
sioners, boards of supervisors, and boards of education. 

Counties are divided into urban and rural districts. 
An urban district comprises a town or a small area densely 
populated; a rural district, several country parishes. 
These districts also have councils elected by the people. 
The chairman, unless a woman (women may- serve in 
district councils but not in county councils), is a 
magistrate for the county by virtue of his office. 

In every civil parish in a rural district there is a 
Parish Meeting at which every parochial elector may at- 
tend and vote; and in the more populous parishes there 
is also a Parish Council. These bodies look after the 
poor, burials, baths and washhouses, lighting and watch- 
ing, public libraries, etc., and appoint the overseers of 
the poor. 

FRANCE 

ii. A Republic. — Next to that of England, the mother 
Government of the United States, the Government of 
France is of the most interest to Americans, because 
France is a republic. The present Government is known 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 135 

as the Third Republic. The first, beginning in 1792, was 
made an empire under Napoleon L, in 1S04; the second, 
beginning in i848, was again made an empire under 
Napoleon III., in 1852. The Third Republic was formed 
September 4, 1S70, after the overthrow of Napoleon III. 
in the progress of the war with Germany. A national 
assembly was chosen by universal suffrage early in 1871, 
to make peace. This done, it continued to direct the 
affairs of government and framed a constitution which it 
adopted in 1875, and which went into effect without 
being submitted to the people. 

12. The Executive. — The President of France is elected, 
for a term of seven years, by a joint vote of the National 
Assembly (see p. 137). He appoints and may remove all 
civil and military officers of the central Government. He 
has no veto on legislation, but can demand a reconsidera- 
tion of any measure passed by the legislative department. 
The President concludes treaties with foreign powers, 
but cannot declare war without the previous consent of 
the legislative department. No member of a family 
having occupied the throne of France can become Presi- 
dent. The salary of the President is 600,000 francs, and 
he has an allowance of as much more for his expenses. 

13. The Senate. — The upper house of the legislative 
department is called the Senate. It consists of 300 
members elected, for nine years from citizens at least 
forty years old. They are elected by electoral bodies 
(colleges) one in each department (see p. 138). Besides 
members from the local divisions of a department, an 
electoral college contains the Deputies (see Deputies, 
p. 136) of the department. One-third of the membership 
of the Senate is renewed every three years. 



136 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

14. The Chamber. —The lower house of the legislative 
department is called the Chamber of Deputies. It is 
composed of 584 Deputies, elected for four years by 
universal suffrage. The Deputies must be citizens at 
least twenty-five years old. The princes of deposed 
dynasties are precluded from membership in the Chamber 
(and in the Senate). Each arrondissement (see p. 138) 
elects one Deputy, and if its population is in excess of 
100,000, it is divided into two or more constituencies. 
The arrondissement corresponds to our congressional 
district, with the difference that there may be more than 
one Deputy from a district. The principal colonies, also, 
are entitled to representation in the Chamber of Deputies. 
The members of both chambers receive each 9,000 francs 
salary a year, and travel free on all railways on payment 
of a small annual sum of money. 

15. The Chambers in Session.— Both chambers as- 
semble every year^n the second Tuesday of January and 
must remain in session at least five months in the year. 
Any member can present a bill, but financial bills must 
originate in the Chamber of Deputies. 

16. The Cabinet and Council of Ministers. — Though 
exercising different functions, the Cabinet and Council of 
Ministers are one and the same body. At present its mem- 
bership consists of eleven ministers. They are usually, 
but not necessarily, members of the Senate or the Cham- 
ber of Deputies, and are appointed by the President in 
accordance with the wishes of the majority in the 
chambers. They have a right to attend all the sessions 
of the chambers and take part in the debates. 

As a Cabinet the ministers exercise legislative func- 
tions in the chambers by presenting bills, debating and 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 137 

answering questions. In this capacity they arc respon- 
sible to the chambers for their acts. As a Council of 
Ministers they assist the President in the administration 
of the Government. Each minister represents some 
executive department; and every act of the President has 
to be countersigned by the minister whose department is 
affected. 

In case the Cabinet loses the support of the chambers 
— especially the Chamber of Deputies — the ministers 
resign; and the President appoints a new Cabinet and 
Council of Ministers. But the President has the power 
to close a regular session of the chambers after it has 
continued five months ; and an extra session any time; 
and he can, w 7 ith the consent of the Senate, dissolve the 
Chamber of Deputies before the expiration of five months 
in order to elect a new one. In this way he may succeed 
in continuing the Cabinet that fell by an adverse vote. 

17. The National Assembly. — For two purposes the 
Senate and the Chamber of Deputies meet in joint session : 
the election of the President and the revision of the 
Constitution. When sitting for one of these purposes 
the two houses are known as the National Assembly. 
Its sessions are not held in Paris, but in Versailles. The 
Executive as well as the Constitution is the creature, 
therefore, of the legislative department. 

18. The Judiciary. — The Supreme Court is the Cassa- 
tion Court, sitting in Paris; below this court are some 
twenty courts of appeal in various parts of the country. 
These hear cases brought from the courts in the capital 
towns of the arrondissements (see p. 138). Justices of 
the peace adjust petty cases in the cantons (see p. 138). 
In questions affecting the safety of the state the Senate 



138 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

may be constituted a special court. The Minister of 
Justice appoints all judges to serve during good behavior. 
Civil cases are tried without juries. 

19. Local Government. — For the administration of 
local affairs France is divided into departments, sub- 
divided into arrondissements, subdivided into cantons, 
subdivided into communes. The departments are 
fractions of France; the others are fractional parts of the 
department. The central Government acts upon the 
department, whose head, the Prefect, is appointed 
by the Minister of the Interior; but the Prefect is also 
responsible to the other ministers in acts affecting their 
departments. Any minister can veto a Prefect's acts. 
Local legislative bodies are elected by the people. Most 
of the local officers are appointed by the Prefect, and 
may, in common with all others, be removed by him, or 
by the Minister of the Interior, or even by the President 
himself. France is a centralized republic, whose execu- 
tive and judicial officers, general and local, are mostly 
appointed by the President and the ministry. 

GERMANY 

20. An Empire. — The German Empire, whose constitu- 
tion bears the date of April 16, 1871, is formed of all 
the states of Germany as " an eternal union for the pro- 
tection of the realm and the care of the welfare of the 
German people. " The original, the Holy Roman Em- 
pire, which came to an end in 1806, w T as formed by 
Charlemagne, when he was crowned Kaiser at Rome, 
Christmas Day, 800. After Napoleon had overthrown 
the old empire, a Confederation arose, in which Austria 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 139 

was the dominant state until 1 866. Then the North Ger- 
man Confederation, with Prussia as the leading state, 
was organized, and Austria betook herself to the work of 
forming a new union with various nationalities of South- 
eastern Europe. When, in 1870, war broke out between 
France and Prussia, all the German states not in the 
North German Confederation united for protection 
against Napoleon III., with their northern neighbors 
and brethren. This was done January 18, 1871, in 
the Palace of Versailles, whither William L, King of 
Prussia, had come in the course of the Franco-Prussian 
war. 

The German Empire consists of a confederation (see 
p. 13) of four kingdoms, six grand duchies, seven prin- 
cipalities, three free towns, and the Reichsland (imperial 
domain) of Alsace-Lorraine. The leading state is 
Prussia, whose king is the hereditary president of the 
confederation — the Emperor of the empire. As King of 
Prussia the Emperor occupies a hereditary throne; but as 
Emperor proper he simply occupies a hereditary office. 
The Government of the empire is of the form of a limited 
monarchy. 

21. The Executive. — The principal executive function 
is to represent the empire in its international relations. 
The Emperor (Kaiser) can declare war, if defensive, as 
well as enter into certain treaties with other nations, and 
appoint and receive ambassadors. When a war is not 
defensive the Emperor must have the consent of the 
upper branch of the legislative department. The states, 
too, may send ambassadors to, and make treaties with, 
foreign countries; but the dealings must not affect any 
of the interests of the empire. 



140 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

22. The Legislative Department. — The legislative func* 
tions are vested in the Bundesrath (Federal Council) and 
the Reichstag (Diet of the Realm). The Emperor has 
no veto on the laws passed by these bodies. The legisla- 
tive department is the sovereign power. It can amend 
the constitution without submitting the amendments 
either to the people or to the governments of the states; 
but it cannot deprive a state of any of its rights guar- 
anteed to it by the Constitution, unless such state gives 
its consent. 

23. The Bundesrath. — The Bundesrath represents the 
individual states. It consists of fifty-eight members, ap- 
pointed by the governments of the states for each session. 
The members are in reality diplomatic agents accred- 
ited to the Emperor. The larger states have the most 
members. Prussia has seventeen, while seventeen of the 
smaller states have each one member; but each state 
has only one vote. The Imperial Chancellor (see p. 141), 
who must be one of Prussia's seventeen members, pre- 
sides. In case of a tie, his vote is decisive ; that is, Prussia 
wins in case of a tie. The Bundesrath is legislative, 
executive, and judicial in its functions. Although it 
may originate bills, it confines itself mostly to approval 
or disapproval of the measures of the Reichstag. Any 
member of the Bundesrath may express his views on the 
floor of the Reichstag. As an executive body the Bun- 
desrath has a general oversight of the administration of 
the laws of the Empire. It has a voice in the nomination 
of the most important officers and in the making of cer- 
tain treaties. Its judicial functions are mostly incidental 
to its administrative work; but it may also settle disputes 
of the Empire with a state or disputes between states 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 141 

and it will hear cases on appeal from an individual in a 
dispute with a state. 

24. The Reichstag. — This body represents the German 
people. It consists of 397 members (of which number 
Prussia returns 236), elected by universal suffrage and 
secret ballot, for a term of five years; but the Reichstag 
may at any time be dissolved by the Emperor, with the 
consent of the Bundesrath (provided Prussia concurs in 
the assent), in which case he must order a new election 
within sixty days. He may also adjourn the Reichstag 
once during any session, but not for more than thirty 
days. Members must be at least twenty-five years old, 
which is also the voting age. They receive no compensa- 
tion but may hold some other salaried office under the 
Empire or one of the states. 

25. The Imperial Chancellor.— There is no Cabinet or 
Ministry of the Empire. There are imperial officials, 
appointed by the Emperor, but they act independently 
of each other, under the general supervision of the Im- 
perial Chancellor, also appointed by the Emperor. The 
Chancellor is the Emperor's proxy, as it were, responsible 
to him and not to the Reichstag. The Emperor may 
remove him at pleasure; but need not do so on account of 
an adverse vote in the Reichstag. However, the Chan- 
cellor owes it to the Reichstag to give them an account of 
the administration of the laws; and they may criticise 
him by votes or otherwise, which right they exercise 
freely. As president of the Bundesrath the Imperial 
Chancellor is simply a Prussian, not an imperial official. 
He represents there, not the Emperor but the King of 
Prussia. The imperial officials in charge of separate 
administrative departments number eleven; they are all 



142 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

under the direction of the Chancellor. Besides them 
there are twelve standing committees in the Bundesrath 
that act under the supervision of the Chancellor. 

26. The Judiciary. —The Empire uses the state courts 
as its judiciary, except that there is at the head of the 
state system, the Imperial Court, as the supreme court 
of appeal. The state governments determine the state 
districts and appoint the judges, but the Empire fixes 
the qualifications of the judges and the rules of the courts. 

27. Local Government. — Owing to the fact that the 
German Empire is a confederation of states, old and new, 
with a variety of governments, from that of kingdoms to 
that of free cities, local government is not at all uniform. 
It may be said, however, that it is the imperial policy to 
secure uniformity. Germany is rapidly becoming a 
homogeneous nation. 

RUSSIA 

28. The Empire of all the Russias. — The Russian Em- 
pire consists of Russia proper, Poland, Finland, Siberia, 
Caucasus, and Central Asia. The Empire is divided into 
seventy-nine governments, eighteen provinces, and one 
section: At the head of each is a governor, the represen- 
tative of the Czar. Their combined jurisdiction covers 
more than one-seventh of the land surface of the earth. 
The Empire does not consist of confederated states, but 
mostly of conquered states (see p. 13). Though the 
Government was an absolute monarchy until 1905, all 
power having been in the Czar, yet his will was more or 
less limited by the will of the people. Their habits and 
customs and their settled rights and privileges could not 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 143 

safely be ignored. His officials, too, had to be reckoned 
with when he promulgated a law. 

29. The Government. — The Government of the Russian 
Empire is now a limited hereditary monarchy. The 
legislative power by various ukases (decrees) of the 
Oar, the first issued August 20, 1905, is to be exercised 
by a bicameral Parliament. The Council of the Empire 
(see p. 143) is to be the upper house, but half of its mem- 
bers will hereafter be elected — some by the land-owning 
nobility, some by the clergy, some by the Academy of 
Sciences, others by the universities, and still others by 
the Chambers of Industry and Commerce. The lower 
house, or national assembly, is called the Duma. Its 
members, 450 in number, are elected by a popular vote. 
Its first session began May 10, 1906. The ministers (see 
p. 144) may be questioned as to their acts and policies 
in either chamber, as in the German Empire (see p. 141), 
but they are responsible to the Czar alone and not to 
the Parliament, as in England and France (see pp. 132 
and 137). Any bill passed by the two houses may be 
vetoed by the Czar. Though the Parliament must meet 
once a year, the Czar reserves the right to convoke and 
dissolve the body at any time. 

Notwithstanding these ukases of the Czar concerning a 
limited monarchy, there is much uncertainty as to what 
the future Government of Russia will be like. 

30. The National Boards. — According to the plan of 
government under the absolute rule of the Czar, the 
national affairs of the Russian Empire are entrusted to 
four great boards, possessing separate functions. The 
first is the Council of the Empire, consisting of about 100 
members, exclusive of the ministers, who have a seat 



144 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

ex officio, and of four princes of the imperial house. Its 
chief function is to examine the laws proposed by the 
ministers, to discuss the budget and all the annual 
expenditures to be made. It does not propose legisla- 
tion, however, it merely gives advice to the ministry upon 
its measures of legislation. 

The second board is the Ruling Senate. The Senators 
are persons of high rank or station. Eminent lawyers 
preside over the departments into which it is divided. 
These lawyers represent the Emperor, and without their 
signatures a decision of the Senate is not valid. All laws 
proposed by the ministry must be promulgated by the 
Senate. It is also a high court of justice for the empire; 
and each department is authorized to hear cases in appeal 
coming under its jurisdiction. The Senate can make 
remonstrances to the Emperor when it discovers in- 
justice and irregularity in the affairs of the realm. 

This third board has supervision of the religious affairs. 
Its members are high officials of the Greek Church. All 
decisions are made in the Emperor's name and must be 
approved by him. 

The fourth board is the Committee of Ministers, con- 
sisting of thirteen members. They all communicate di- 
rectly with the Czar. He has also two private cabinets, 
one of which is occupied with charities and the other with 
education. Then there are three other special cabinets, 
one of which is entrusted with the petitions addressed to 
the Czar. 

31. Local Government— A part of the local church 
and civil government is entrusted to the people. For this 
purpose the whole country is divided into communes, 
whose peasants elect from among themselves m elder as 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 145 

executive and a tax collector as a superintendent of 
public stores. Communal assemblies which are composed 
of all the householders in the commune, or village, are 
held to discuss and decide communal affairs. Communes 
are united into cantons, whose elder is elected by can- 
tonal assemblies composed of delegates elected by the 
village assemblies, one delegate to every ten householders. 
The cantonal assemblies elect from four to twelve judges; 
who constitute a court for the administration of justice. 
The canton is the widest form of peasant self-govern- 
ment. Above the canton is the district, which likewise 
has its assembly. The district is a political division of 
the province, upon which, as a whole, the Ministry of the 
Empire acts through the provincial governor. The 
province, too, has its assembly; but its members are 
selected from the membership of the district assemblies — 
one for every six members. What measure of self-gov- 
ernment the Russian peasants enjoy is confined to the 
communal officers and assemblies. The cantonal gov- 
ernment has largely fallen into disuse, having been 
absorbed by the landowners who control the districts 
of a province. 

JAPAN 

32. An Empire. — Japan is an empire, which, it is 
claimed, was founded 660 B.C. and is ruled now by the 
same dynasty that formed it. The system of govern- 
ment was that of an absolute monarchy until 1889, when 
a constitution was promulgated by the Emperor. 

33. The Executive. — The Emperor is the head of the 
empire. He has the title of Tenno, in honor of the 



146 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

founder of the dynasty. To foreigners he is known as 
the Mikado. In him are vested all the rights of sov- 
ereignty. For instance, the constitution did not proceed 
from the people but from him; and any amendment of it 
can be made by him only. He exercises all executive 
powers. He declares war, makes peace, and concludes 
treaties. 

34. The Cabinet. — The members of the Cabinet, ten in 
number, are appointed by the Emperor and are responsi- 
ble to him, and not, as in most other limited monarchies, 
to the Parliament. But strong efforts have been made 
to establish a different relation between the Cabinet and 
the Parliament. There is also a Privy Council attached 
to the Emperor, who consider the matters of state sub- 
mitted to them and give advice. The members of the 
Cabinet have charge of the various executive depart- 
ments, of foreign affairs, finance, war, education, etc. 

35. The Imperial Diet. — This is the Parliament of 
Japan. It consists of two houses, a House of Peers and 
a House of Representatives. Either house may initiate 
questions for legislation, and make suggestions to the 
Emperor as to laws or any other subject. When a law 
is submitted to them they deliberate and vote upon it; 
but when it comes to the budget they can neither reduce 
nor reject that part of it which provides for the neces- 
sary expenses of the Government. 

36. The House of Peers. — This house has nearly 375 
members. . All the male members of the imperial family 
of full age (twenty-five years), a number of princes and 
marquises, and a small number of persons appointed by 
the Emperor for meritorious services to the state or to 
learning, are peers for life. The others are elected for 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 147 

seven years by the orders of rank and wealth to which 
they belong and which are filled by appointment from 
the Emperor. 

37. The House of Representatives. — This body is com- 
posed of 369 members, elected by the male Japanese 
subjects of not less than twenty-five years of age and 
who pay a certain amount of taxes. A male who is more 
than thirty years old may, however, be elected to the 
House of Representatives without being a tax payer. 
Its president is appointed by the Emperor from among 
three members nominated by it. 

38. The Judiciary. — There are four courts: District, 
Original, Appellate, and Cassation. The judges are ap- 
pointed by the Emperor for life and can be dismissed 
from office only by a sentence passed by the criminal 
court. 

39. The Local Government— For local government 
the Empire is divided into prefectures, subdivided into 
cities and counties. The counties are again divided into 
towns and villages. All these divisions have their 
assemblies, or legislative bodies, elected by the people. 
The governor of a prefecture and the sheriff of a county 
are appointed by the central Government; the other chief 
executive officers are elected by the assemblies. Mayors 
must have the approval of the Emperor; and magistrates 
of towns and villages, that of the governor of the pref- 
ecture. To be a voter requires citizenship and residence, 
an age of twenty-five years and the payment of taxes. 
There are no class distinctions in civil rights among 
Japanese subjects and freedom of religion is guaranteed 
throughout the Empire. 



APPENDIX 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 

The following preamble and specifications, known as the Declara- 
tion of Independence, accompanied the resolution of Richard Henry 
Lee, which was adopted by Congress on the 2d day of July, 1776. 
This declaration was agreed to on the 4th, and the transaction is 
thus recorded in the Journal for that day: 

"Agreeably to the order of the day, the Congress resolved itself into a 
committee of the whole , to take into their further consideration the Declara- 
tion; and, after some time, the president resumed the chair, and Mr. 
Harrison reported that the committee have agreed to a Declaration, which 
they desired him to report. The Declaration being read, was agreed 
to as follows:" 

A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED 
STATES OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 
one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them 
with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the 
separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's 
God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind 
requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to 
the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created 
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain in- 
alienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit 
of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted 
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the 
governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destruc- 

149 



150 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

tive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish 
it, and to institute new government ; laying its foundation on such 
principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall 
seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, 
indeed, will dictate, that governments long established should not 
be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all ex- 
perience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, 
while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the 
lorms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of 
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces 
a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it 
is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards 
for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of 
these colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them 
to alter their former systems of government. The history of the 
present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and 
usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an 
absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be 
submitted to a candid world. 

He has refused to assent to laws, the most wholesome and neces- 
sary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and 
pressing importance^ unless suspended in their operation till his 
assent should be obtained; and when so suspended he has utterly 
neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large 
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of 
representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them, and 
formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, un- 
comfortable, and distant from the despository of their public records, 
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his 
measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing 
with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause 
others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of 
annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; 
the state remaining, in the meantime, exposed to all the dangers of 
invasion from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; 
for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 151 

refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and 
raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his 
assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure 
of their offices; and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent thither swarms 
of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without 
the consent of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior 
to the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign 
to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his 
assent to their acts of pretended legislation: 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us; 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any 
murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these 
states; 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world; 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent; 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury; 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses ; 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring 
province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and en- 
larging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and 
fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these 
colonies; 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, 
and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments; 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves 
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his 
protection, and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, 
and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries 
to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already 
begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy, scarcely parallelled 
in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civil- 
ized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high 



152 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners 
of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has en- 
deavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless 
Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished 
destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress 
in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered 
only by repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked 
by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a 
free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. 
We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their 
legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We 
have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and 
settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and 
magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common 
kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably 
interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been 
deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. We must, therefore, 
acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold 
them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, 
in general congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of 
the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by 
authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and 
declare, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, 
free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance 
to the British crown, and that all political connection between them 
and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; 
and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy 
war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to 
do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. 
And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the 
protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other 
our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

The foregoing declaration was, by order of Congress, engrossed, and 

signed by the following members: 

JOHN HANCOCK. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 153 



NEW HAMPSHIRE 

JoSIAH BARTLETT 

William Whipple 
Matthew ThorNtoN 



NEW JERSEY 

Richard Stockton 
John Witherspoon 
Francis Hopkinson 
John Hart 



MASSACHUSETTS BAY Abraham Clark 



•Samuel Adams 
John Adams 
Robert Treat Paine 
Elbridge Gerry 

RHODE ISLAND 

Stephen Hopkins 
William Ellery 

CONNECTICUT 

Roger Sherman 
Samuel Huntington 
William Williams 
Oliver Wolcott 

NEW YORK 

William Floyd 
Philip Livingston 
Francis Lewis 
Lewis Morris 



PENNSYLVANIA 

Robert Morris 
Benjamin Rush 
Benjamin Franklin 
John Morton 
George Clymer 
James Smith 
George Taylor 
James Wilson 
George Ross 

DELAWARE 

Cesar Rodney 
George Read 
Thomas M'Kean 

MARYLAND 

Samuel Chase 
William Paca 
Thomas Stone 
Charles Carroll 



VIRGINIA 

George Wythe 
Richard Henry Lee 
Thomas Jefferson 
Benjamin Harrison 
Thomas Nelson, Jun. 
Francis Lightfoot Lee 
Carter Braxton 



NORTH CAROLINA 

William Hooper 
Joseph Hewes 
John Penn 



SOUTH CAROLINA 

Edward Rutledge 
Thomas Heyward, Jun. 
Thomas Lynch, Jun. 
Arthur Middleton 



GEORGIA 

Button Gwinnett 
Lyman Hall 
George Walton 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND PERPETUAL UNION 
BETWEEN THE STATES (1776-78) 

Article I. — The style of this Confederacy shall be, "The United 
States of America." 

Art. II. — Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and in- 
dependence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not 
by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States in 
Congress assembled. 

Art. III. — The said States hereby severally enter into a firm 
league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, 
the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, 
binding themselves to assist each other against all force offered to 
or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, 
sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever. 

Art. IV. — The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship 
and intercourse among the people of the different States in this 



154 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Union, the free inhabitants of each of these States — paupers, vaga- 
bonds, and fugitives from justice, excepted — shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States; and 
the people of each State shall have free ingress and regress to and 
from any other State, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of 
trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions, and 
restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively; provided that 
such restriction shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of 
property, imported into any State, to any other State of which the 
owner is an inhabitant; provided also that no imposition, duties, or 
restriction shall be laid by any State on the property of the United 
States, or either of them. 

If any person be guilty of or charged with treason, felony, or other 
high misdemeanor, in any State, shall flee from justice, and be found 
in any of the United States, he shall, upon demand of the governor 
or executive power of the State from which he fled, be delivered up 
and removed to the State having jurisdiction of his offense. 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these States to the 
records, acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates 
of every other State. 

Art. V. — For the more convenient management of the general 
interest of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed 
in such manner as the Legislature of each State shall direct, to meet 
in Congress on the first Monday in November in every year, with a 
power reserved to each State to recall its delegates, or any of them, 
at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead for the 
remainder of the year. 

No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two nor by 
more than seven members; and no person shall be capable of being a 
delegate for more than three years in any term of six years; nor shall 
any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under 
the United States, for which he, or another for his benefit, receives 
any salary, fees, or emolument of any kind. 

Each State shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the 
States, and while they act as members of the committee of the States. 

In determining questions in the United States in Congress as- 
sembled, each State shall have one vote. 

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached 
or questioned in any court, or place out of Congress; and the members 
of Congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and 
imprisonments during the time of their going to and from, and attend- 
ance on, Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 155 

Art. VI. — No State, without the consent of the United States 
in Congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any 
embassy from, or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance, 
or treaty with, any king, prince, or state ; nor shall any person holding 
any office of profit or trust under the United States, or any of them, 
accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind what- 
ever, from any king, prince, or foreign state; nor shall the United 
States in Congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of 
nobility. 

No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, confederation, or 
alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the United 
States in Congress assembled; specifying accurately the purposes 
for which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall con- 
tinue. 

No State shall lay any imposts or duties which may interfere with 
any stipulations in treaties entered into by the United States in 
Congress assembled, with any king, prince, or state, in pursuance 
of any treaties already proposed by Congress to the courts of France 
and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any State, 
except such number only as shall be deemed necessary, by the 
United States in Congress assembled, for the defense of such State 
or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any State 
in time of peace, except such number only as, in the judgment of the 
United States in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to 
garrison the forts necessary for the defense of such State; but every 
State shall always keep up a well-regulated and disciplined militia, 
sufficiently armed and accoutered, and shall provide and constantly 
have ready for use in public stores a due number of field-pieces and 
tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp equi- 
page. 

No State shall engage in any war without the consent of the United 
States in Congress assembled, unless such State be actually invaded 
by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution 
being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such State, and 
the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay till the United 
States in Congress assembled can be consulted; nor shall any State 
grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of 
marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the 
United States in Congress assembled, and then only against the 
kingdom or state, and the subjects thereof, against which war has 
been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be established 



156 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

by the United States in Congress assembled, unless such State be 
infested by pirates; in which case vessels of war may be fitted out 
for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or 
until the United States in Congress assembled shall determine 
otherwise. 

Art. VII. — When land forces are raised by any State for the 
common defense, all officers of or under the rank of colonel shall be 
appointed by the Legislature of each State respectively by whom 
such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such State shall 
direct; and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State which first 
made the appointment. 

Art. VIII. — All charges of war/ and all other expenses that shall 
be incurred for the common defense or general welfare, and allowed 
by the United States in Congress assembled shall be defrayed out 
of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States 
in proportion to the value of all lands within each State, granted to 
or surveyed for any person, as such land and the buildings and im- 
provements thereon shall be estimated, according to such mode as 
the United States in Congress assembled shall from time to time 
direct and appoint. The taxes for paying that proportion shall be 
laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures 
of the several States within the time agreed upon by the United 
States in Congress assembled. 

Art. IX. — The United States in Congress assembled shall have 
the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and 
war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article; of sending 
and receiving ambassadors, entering into treaties and alliances, 
provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made whereby the 
legislative power of the respective States shall be restrained from 
imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners as their own people 
are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation 
of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever; of establishing 
rules for deciding in all cases what captures on land or water shall 
be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces 
in the service of the United States shall be divided or appropriated; 
of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace, appoint- 
ing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally 
appeals in all cases of captures, provided that no member of Congress 
shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall also be the last 
resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 157 

that hereafter may arise between two or more States concerning 
boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever; which authority 
shall always be exercised in the manner following: Whenever the 
legislative or executive authority or lawful agent of any State, in 
controversy with another, shall present a petition to Congress, 
stating the matter in question, and praying for a hearing, notice 
thereof shall be given by order of Congress to the legislative or ex- 
ecutive authority of the other State in controversy, and a day as- 
signed for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who 
shall then be directed to appoint, by joint consent, commissioners 
or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter 
in question: but, if they cannot agree, Congress shall name three 
persons out of each of the United States; and from the list of such 
persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners 
beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from 
that number not less than seven nor more than nine names, as Con- 
gress shall direct, shall in the presence of Congress be drawn out by 
lot; and the persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any five of 
them, shall be commissioners or judges to hear and finally determine 
the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall 
hear the cause shall agree in the 'determination: and if either party 
shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons 
which Congress shall judge sufficient, or, being present, shall refuse 
to strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out 
of each State, and the Secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf 
of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sentence of 
the court, to be appointed in the manner before prescribed, shall be 
final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to 
the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or 
cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence 
or judgment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive — the 
judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either case 
transmitted to Congress, and lodged among the acts of Congress 
for the security of the parties concerned: provided that every com- 
missioner, before he site in judgment, shall take an oath, to be ad- 
ministered by one of the judges of the Supreme or Superior Court of 
the State where the cause shall be tried, "well and truly to hear and 
determine the matter in question, according to the best of his judg- 
ment, without favor, affection, or hope of reward": provided also 
that no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the 
United States. 

AH controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed 



158 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

under different grants of two or more States, whose jurisdictions as 
they may respect such lands, and the States which passed such 
grants, are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the 
same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement 
of jurisdiction, shall, on the petition of either party to the Congress 
of the United States, be finally determined, as near as may be, in the 
same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting 
territorial jurisdiction between different States. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the sole 
and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of 
coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective 
States; fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the 
United States; regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the 
Indians, not members of any of the States, provided that the legis- 
lative right of any State within its own limits be not infringed or 
violated; establishing and regulating post offices from one State to 
another throughout all the United States, and exacting such postage 
on the papers passing through the same as may be requisite to defray 
the expenses of the said office; appointing all officers of the land 
forces in the service of the United States, excepting regimental 
officers; appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commis- 
sioning all officers whatever in the service of the United States; 
making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and 
naval forces, and directing their operations. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority 
to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of Congress, to be de- 
nominated "A committee of the States," and to consist of one 
delegate from each State; and to appoint such other committees and 
civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of 
the United States under their direction ; to appoint one of their num- 
ber to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the 
office of president more than one year in any term of three years; 
to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service 
of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for 
defraying the public expenses; to borrow money, or emit bills on 
the credit of the United States, transmitting every half-year to the 
respective States an account of the sums of money so borrowed or 
emitted; to build and equip a navy; to agree upon the number of 
land forces, and to make requisitions from each State for its quota, 
in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such State; 
which requisition shall be binding; and thereupon the Legislature 
of each State shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men, 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 159 

and clothe, arm, and equip them in a soldierlike manner, at the 
expense of the United States; and the officers and men so clothed, 
avmed, and equipped shall march to the place appointed and within 
the time agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled: 
But if the United States in Congress assembled shall, on considera- 
tion of circumstances, judge proper that any State should not raise 
men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any 
other State should raise a greater number of men than the quota 
thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed, armed, 
and equipped in the same manner as the quota of such State, unless 
the Legislature of such State shall judge that such extra number 
cannot be safely spared out of the same; in which case they shall 
raise, officer, clothe, arm, and equip as many of such extra number 
as they judge can be safely spared; and the officers and men so clothed, 
armed, and equipped shall march to the place appointed, and within 
the time agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall never engage in a 
war; nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace; nor 
enter into any treaties or alliances; nor coin money, nor regulate the 
value thereof; nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for 
the defense and welfare of the United States, or any of them; nor 
emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the United States; 
nor appropriate money; nor agree upon the number of vessels of war 
to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be 
raised, nor appoint a commander in chief of the army or navy, unless 
nine States assent to the same; nor shall a question on any other 
point, except for adjourning from day to day, be determined, un- 
less by the votes of a majority of the United States in Congress as- 
sembled. 

The Congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn 
to any time within the year, and to any place within the United 
States, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than 
the space of six months, and shall publish the journal of their pro- 
ceedings monthly, except such parts thereof, relating to treaties, 
alliances, or military operations, as in their judgment requires secrecy; 
and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each State on any question 
shall be entered on the journal, when it is desired by any delegate; 
and the delegates of a State, or any of them, at his or their request, 
shall be furnished with a transcript of the said journal, except such 
parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several 
States. 

Abt. X. — The Committee of the States, or any nine of them, shall 



160 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

be authorized to execute, in the recess of Congress, such of the powers 
of Congress as the United States in Congress assembled, by the 
consent of nine States, shall from time to time think expedient to 
vest them with; provided that no power be delegated to the said 
committee, for the exercise of which, by the articles of Confederation, 
the voice of nine States in the Congress of the United States assembled 
is requisite. 

Art. XI. — Canada, acceding to this Confederation, and joining 
in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and 
entitled to all the advantages of, this union: but no other colony 
shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to 
by nine States. 

Art. XII. — All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, and 
debts contracted, by or under the authority of Congress before the 
assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the present Con- 
federation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the 
United States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said United 
States and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged. 

Art. XIII. — Every State shall abide by the determinations of 
the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions which, by 
this Confederation, are submitted to them. And the articles of 
this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and 
the Union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time 
hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed 
to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed 
by the legislatures of every State. 

And whereas, It hath pleased the Great Governor of the world 
to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in 
Congress to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify, the said Articles 
of Confederation and perpetual Union, KNOW YE, that we, the 
undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us 
given for that purpose, do by these presents, in the name and in 
behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and 
confirm each and every of the said articles of Confederation and 
perpetual Union, and all and singular the matters and things therein 
contained: And we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith 
cf our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determina- 
tions of the United States in Congress assembled on all questions 
which by the said Confederation are submitted to them; and that the 
articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the States we respec- 
tively represent, and that the Union shall be perpetual. In witness 
whereof, we have hereunto set pur hands in Congress. Done at 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 161 

Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, the 9th day of July, in 
the year of our Lord, 1778, and in the third year of the Independence 
of America.* 

THE STATES OF THE UNION 



States 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30. 
31. 
32. 
33. 
34. 
35. 
36. 
37. 
38. 
39. 
40. 
41. 
42. 
43. 
44. 
45. 
46. 
47. 
48. 



Delaware 

Pennsylvania. . . 
New Jersey .... 

Georgia 

Connecticut .... 
Massachusetts. . 

Maryland. 

South Carolina. 
New Hampshire 

Virginia 

New York 

North Carolina . 
Rhode Island. . . 

Vermont 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Ohio 

Indiana . 

Mississippi 

Illinois 

Alabama 

Maine 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

West Virginia . . 

Louisiana 

Florida 

Arkansas ...:.. 

Missouri 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Nebraska 

North Dakota . . 
South Dakota. . 

Montana 

Wyoming 

California 

Nevada 

Utah 

Oregon 

Washington .... 

Idaho 

Minnesota 

Colorado 

Texas 

Oklahoma 

New Mexico. . . 
Arizona 



C.S 00 

6 SR 

1 00 p 

lis 

3« ° 



Total 435 



1 

36 

12 

12 

5 

16 

6 

7 

2 

10 

43 

10 

3 

2 

11 

10 

22 

13 

8 

27 

10 

4 

13 

11 

6 

8 

4 

7 

16 

11 

8 

6 

3 

3 

2 

1 

11 

1 

2 

3 

5 

2 

10 

4 

18 

8 

1 

1 



Population 
1910 



202,322 

7,665,111 

2,537,167 

2,609,121 

1,114,756 

3,366,416 

1,295,346 

1,515,400 

430,572 

2,061,612 

9,113,279 

2,206,287 

542,610 

355,956 

2,289,905 

2,184,789 

4,767,121 

2,700,876 

1,797,114 

5,638,591 

2,138,093 

742,371 

2,810,173 

2,333,860 

1,221,119 

1,656,388 

751,139 

1,574,449 

3,293,335 

2,224,771 

1,690,949 

1,192,214 

577,056 

583,888 

376,053 

145,965 

2,377,549 

81,875 

373,351 

672,765 

1,141,990 

325,594 

2,075,708 

799,024 

3,896,542 

1,657,155 

327,301 

204,354 



Area 
Sq. Mi. 



2,050 
45,215 

7,815 
59,475 

4,990 

8,315 
12,210 
30,570 

9,305 
42,450 
49,170 
52,250 

1,250 

9,565 

40,400 

42,050 

41,060 

36,350 

46,810 

56,650 

52,250 

33,040 

58,915 

56,040 

24,780 

24,780 

58,680 

53,850 

69,415 

56,025 

82,080 

77,510 

70,795 

77,650 

146,080 

97,890 

158,360 

110,700 

84,970 

96,030 

69,180 

84,800 

83,365 

103,925 

265,780 

70,430 

122,580 

113,020 



Ad- 
mitted 



1789 
1789 
1789 
1789 
1789 
1789 
1789 
1789 
1789 
1789 
1789 
1789 
1790 
1791 
1792 
1796 
1803 
1816 
1817 
1818 
1819 
1820 
1837 
1848 
1863 
1812 
1845 
1836 
1821 
1846 
1861 
1867 
1889 
1889 
1889 
1890 
1850 
1864 
1896 
1859 
1889 
1890 
1858 
1876 
1845 
1907 
1911 
1912 



Origin 



Original 



From Original 
Territory 



By Purchase 



By Conquest 



( By Discovery 
■< and 

( Cession 
Mixed 

Adm'd Republic 
By Purchase 
By Conquest 
and Purchase 



* The names of the signers are omitted. 



162 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 



Territories 


Popula- 
tion 
1910 


Area 
Sq. Mi. 


Territories 


Popula- 
tion 
1910 


Area 
Sq.Mi. 


District of Colum- 


331,069 


70 


Hawaii 


191,909 
64,356 


6,449 


bia 


Alaska 


590,884 









The population of the United States at the end of each decade was 
as follows: 



1790 3,929,214 

1800 5,308,483 

1810 7,239,881 

1820 9,638,453 



1830 12,866,020 

1840 17,069,453 

1850 23,191,876 

1860 31,443,321 



1870 38,558,371 

1880 50,155,783 

1890 62,622,250 

1900 76,303,387 



1910 91,107,727 



Total Population of the United States: 

In the States 91,639,382 

In the Territories 587,334 



92,226,716 



The above statistics do not include the people of Porto Rico, 
Guam, Tutuila and the Philippine Islands. 

A government for Porto Rico (population 1,113,012) was estab- 
lished in 1900. The Philippines (population, 1903, 7,635,426) are 
under a provisional civil government — Guam (population, 8,661) and 
Tutuila (population, 5,800), are under Governors, and the Isthmian 
Canal Zone under a Commission, all appointed by the President. 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Amendment (of U S, Con- 
stitution), 

(C)* 110, 110-112, 122-123 

Appeals (in U. S. Courts) ... 102 

Appropriations: 

no money to be paid with- 
out (C)74 

to the army 70 

basis of 59 

Aristocracy: 

origin of 8 10 

definition of 13 

Arms, right to bear 117 

Army: 

origin of standing 10 

of the United States 70 

appropriation to, of U. S. . 71 
States not to have, with- 
out consent of U. S . . . (C) 77 

Assembly, national of France 137 

Attainder, bills of . . . .75, (C) 77 

Attorney-General 90 

Bail, excessive 120 

Bankruptcy 65 

Bills of credit 77 

Bill of Rights 115 

Bundesrath, The German. . 140 

Cabinet: 

of United States. See 
President. 



PAGE 

Cabinet : 

of England 131 

of France 136 

of Russia 144 

of Japan 146 

Ceded places 72 

Census (C) 41 

Chancellor, Imperial of Ger- 
many 141 

Checks and balances 40 

Citizens: 

privileges of (C) 105 

discrimination between. . . 105 

definition of (C) 124, 125 

Civilization, stages of 10 

Civil officers 96 

Civil service 92 

Coastwise trade 76 

Coin and coinage. See 

Money. 
Colonies: 

definition of 21 

government of American . 2 1 
Commerce, regulation of, 

(C) 61, 76 

Commissions 95 

Committees: 

of ways and means 58 

of appropriations 59 

other 59 

in the Senate 50 

in the House 46 



* Pages indicated by (C) refer to a certain clause of the Constitution found 
there. 

163 



164 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Commons, English House of 130 

Confederation, The 

formation of 28 

government of 29, 31 

Congress (of U. S.): 

adjournment of by Presi- 
dent (C)95 

contested seats 54 

disorderly conduct. (C) 54, 55 
disqualification of mem- 
bers (C)57 

freedom from arrest of 

members 57 

houses of 40 

journals of. (C) 54 

obstruction in 56 

powers of (C)61,72 

powers forbidden to (C) 73 

quorum in (C) 53, 55 

returns and qualifications 

of members 54 

rules of proceedings 55 

salaries of members. (<7) 56, 57 

secrecy in (C) 54, 55 

sessions of 53, (C) 95, 95 

Congresses: 

Colonial 24 

Continental 26, 27, 28, 29 

Congressional districts 45 

Congressman-at-large 46 

Constitution of England. ... 133 

Constitution (of U. S.) : 
parts void and dead, 

(C) 41, 43, (C) 79, 126 
ratification of 35, (C), 114-115 

signers of (C) 114, 115 

subject-matter of 39 

supremacy of...(C) 112, 113 
written 38 

Constitutional Convention . 32-35 

Contracts, impaiiing obliga- 
tion of 78 

Copyrights , • ', 69 



PAGE 

Council: 

of Russian Empire. ...... 143 

Federal, of Germany. See 
Bundesrath. 

Counterfeiting 67 

County: 

origin of 19 

in New England . 19 

in the South 20 

in the Middle States 20 

Courts (of U.S.): 

appointment of judges, 

(C) 87, 99 

classes of (C) 96, 97-99 

equity 102 

jurisdiction of (C) 99-100, 

100-102 

necessity of 96-97 

power of, abridged 122 

term of judges (C) 96 

Courts: 

of England 133 

of France 137 

of Germany 142 

of Russia 144 

of Japan 147 

Crime: 

infamous 119 

high 96 

Debts: 

Revolutionary 112 

Civil War (C) 125, 126 

Democracy, definition of . '. . 14 
Deputies, French Chamber 

of 136 

Diet: 

of the German Realm. See 

Reichstag. 
Imperial of Japan. See 
Parliament. 
Diplomatic service, 

93, 95, (C) 95 



INDEX 



165 



PAGE 

District of Columbia 72 

Douma, of Russia 143 

Duties: 

definition and classifica- 
tion of 63 

uniformity of (C) 61 

States not to levy 78 

Electors, Presidential. (C) 79, 82 
Emperor: 

of Germany 139 

of Russia 142 

of Japan 145 

Empire: 

definition of ; 13 

of Germany 138 

of Russia 142 

of Japan 145 

Entry, of ships. . . . (<7) 74 

Equity 102 

Excises 63 

Executive departments 89 

Exports, duties on forbidden, 

63, 75 

Ex post facto law 75, (C) 77 

Extradition .(C) 105, 105 

Federal ratio 43 

Felonies 69 

Freedom: 

of religion 116 

of speech and the press, 

(C) 116, 117 
of speech in Congress . . . (C) 57 

Gerrymandering 45 

Government: 

best form of civil 14 

definition of civil 8 

local, of England and 

Wales 133 

local, of France 138 

local, of Germany 142 



PAGE 

Government : 

local, of Japan 147 

local, of Russia 144 

necessity of civil 8 

necessity of, in general ... 7 

of England 128-134 

of France 134-138 

of Germany 138-142 

of Japan , . 145-147 

of Russia. . .* 142-145 

origin of civil 9 

police function of civil. ... 8 

patriarchal 9, 12 

special forms of civil. .... 11 
the three departments of 

civil 39 

the three powers of 

civil 39 

types of civil 11 

" Greenbacks" 77 

Habeas Corpus: 

definition of writ of 74 

suspension of writ of 75 

Hundred, The: 

in America. . , 19 

in England 19 

origin of 19 

Impeachment 47, (C) 48, 50, 

(C) 87, (C) 96, 96 

Imports. See Duties. 

Independence: 

Declaration of 27 

treaty of 29 

Judges (U. S.). See Courts. 
Jury trial (fi) 100, (C)119 

King: 

of England 128 

of Prussia 139, 141 

Kingdoms, origin of 9 



166 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Law: 

due process of 119 

rules of common, in appeals 120 

suits at common 120 

supreme, of the land, 

(C) 112, 113 

Laws: 

execution of the (C) 95 

important commercial. . . 64 

inspection 78 

making of (C) 58 

martial 71 

military 71 

mode of passing. .((7) 58, 59 
not to be passed in disguise 60 
revenue (C) 58 

Legal tender. See Money. 

Lords, English House of 129 

Manor: 

origin of, in England 17 

in America 19 

Military powers: 

of Congress 69-72 

of the President. 70, (C) 87, 88 

Militia: 

National Guard 71 

naval 72 

control ofthe (<7) 62 

Monarchy, classes of 12-13 

Money: 

coinage of .66, (C) 76 

Congress may borrow .... 64 
legal tender ... 66, 68, (C) 76 

paper 31-32, 67-68,77 

standard of 66-67 

Naturalization 64 

Navy 70, (C) 77 

Oath of office: 

of President. See President, 
of other officers.. (C) 112, 113 



PAGE 

Pains and Penalties, bill of . 75 
Parishes: 

in America 17 

in the South 18 

origin of 16 

Parliament: 

English .128, 130 

Japanese. A: 146 

Russian. 143 

Patents \ 69 

Paternalism 8 

Peers, Japanese House of . . . 146 

Piracy 69 

Postmaster-General 90 

Post offices and post roads . . 68 
Preamble (to U. S. Constitu- 
tion) 37, 38, 73 

President (of U.S.): 

appointment of officers by 

((7) 87, 92 

cabinet of 88 

compensation of. . .(C) 81, 86 

duties of (C) 95 

election of (C) 79, 83-85 

inauguration of 86 

legislative functions of . . . 95 

message of ■ « (C) 95, 95 

minority 85 

nature of the office of 81 

nomination of 85 

oath of... (C) 81 

powers of (C) 87 

qualifications of. . . (<7) 80, 85 

term of (C) 79, 82 

President of France 135 

Presidential succession. .... 86 
Punishments, cruel and un- 
usual 120 

Records, of one State in 

another 104 

Reichstag, the German 141 



INDEX 



167 



PAGE 

Removal from office.. 94, (C) 96 
Representatives, House of 
(U.S.): 
apportionment of mem- 
bers of (C) 41, 44 

election of members, (C) 52, 52 

nature of 42 

officers of . , 46 

qualification of members 

of (O 40 

residence of members of . . 43 

vacancies in (C) 41 

who may vote for members 

of , 42 

Representatives, Japanese 

House of 147 

Reprieves and pardons . . (C) 87 
Republic: 

definition of 14 

of France 134 

Revenue: 
customs, annual amount 

of 63 

internal, annual amount 

of 63 

internal, definition of 63 

uniformity of laws of, 

(C) 74, 76 
Rights: 

reserved to the States .... 121 
voting.. ...(C) 124, 126, 127 

Search, right of. ...(C) 117, 118 

Secretary: 

of State 89 

of the Treasury 59, 89 

of War 89 

of the Navy 90 

of the Interior 91 

of Agriculture 91 

of Commerce and Labor . . 91 

Senate (U.S.): 

a continuous body 49 



PAGE 

Senate (U.S.): 

classification of members 

of ((7) 47, 49 

election of members 52 

nature of 48 

number of members of . . (C) 47 

officers 50 

president pro tern-pore of, 

(C) 48, 50 
qualifications of members 

of (O 48 

vacancies in. . . .(C) 48, 49-50 

votingin (C) 47, 48 

Senate: 

of France 135 

of Russia . 144 

Slavery abolished 123 

Slaves 106 

Slave trade 74 

Soldiers, quartering .... (C) 117 

Speaker, of the House 46 

State: 

definition of modern 10 

earliest without land. .... 10 

evolution of 9 

origin of earliest 9 

States (in U.S.): 

abridgment by, of certain 

rights (C) 124, 125 

admission of new, 

(O 106, 106, 107 

division of 107 

formation of original 23 

origin of 21 

powers, forbidden to, 

(C) 76-77 
protection of. (C) 109, 109-110 
relation of, to United 

States 35 

republican form guaran- 
teed 109 

Tariff. See Duties 



168 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Taxes: 

capitation 44, (C) 74 

direct 44, 62, (<7) 74 

indirect 62 

Territories . 108-109 

Theocracy 12 

Title of nobility, (C) 74, (C) 77 
Town meeting: 

New England. IS 

origin of 16 

Township: 

Middle States 18 

New England 17 

origin of 16 

Southern 18 

Trade Convention 32 

Treason (C) 103, 103 

Treaties: 

making of ((7)87,92 

States forbidden to make . 77 



PAGE 

Trial: 

in civil cases (C)119, 120 

in criminal cases. (C) 118, 119 

Union, origin of the 23 

Veto, President's. ...(C) 58, 60 

Vice-President: 

compared with Speaker of 

the House : . . . . 50 

compensation of 86 

election of (C) 80, 83-85 

nomination of 85 

when voting (C) 48 

War: 

closing of ..,69-70 

declaration of 69-70 

engagement in by States, 

,(C) 77 



IOWA 



ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 



BY 
S. M. WEAVER 

CHIEF JUSTICE SUPREME COURT, IOWA 




NEW YORK 

CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. 
1912 



COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY 
MAYNARD, MERRILL & CO. 

COPYRIGHT, 1908, 1912, BY 

CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. 



o- 



CCU319204 



PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION 

Several important amendments have recently 
been made to the Constitution of the State of 
Iowa, and new laws have been enacted by the 
General Assembly, so numerous and of so great 
importance that all text books on Iowa govern- 
ment have become seriously defective and mis- 
leading. A careful revision of "Iowa, its Con- 
stitution and Laws" has therefore been made by 
the author, who has had the benefit of the schol- 
arly assistance of Hon. Charles W. Lyon, As- 
sistant Attorney General of the State of Iowa. 

Remembering the generous approval with which 
earlier editions of this book have been received 
by Iowa schools and schoolmasters, the pub- 
lishers confidently expect this new edition to meet 
all the demands to which changed conditions have 
given rise. Charles E. Merrill Co. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction - ..... ,. . : .- r. « w. v . . 7 

CHAPTER 

I. The Constitution ...... . : M M c -. 11 

II. Iowa in History ,. ,. ,. . . 41 

III. Development of the Constitution ...... 43 

IV. Relation of the State and Nation 45 

V. Constitution aided by Statutes 47 

VI. Personal Eights 49 

VII. Right of Suffrage .61 

VIII. Distribution of Powers 67 

IX. Legislative Department 67 

X. Executive Department .79 

XL Non-elective State Officers ........ 89 

XII. State Institutions 93 

XIII. Judicial Department 95 

XIV. The State Militia :. 101 

XV. State Debts . . . . . ....... .102 

XVI. Corporations . ... 104 

XVII. Public Education ........... 108 

XVIII. Constitutional Amendments Ill 

XIX. Miscellaneous Provisions 113 

XX. Counties and County Government . . . . . .117 

XXI. Townships and Township Government 123 

XXII. Cities and Towns 126 

XXIII. School Districts 133 

XXIV. Taxation . . . . 137 



INTRODUCTION 



Order of Study — The natural order of inquiry into 
the government of one of the United States begins 
with its Constitution. In harmony with this thought 
we devote the first chapter of the following study of 
Iowa to the text of its fundamental law. We suggest, 
however, that at the outset the pupil be not required to 
do more than carefully read this text, and that the more 
minute examination of its provisions be taken up in con- 
nection with the subsequent chapters in which they are 
re-stated and explained in detail. 

Definitions — It cannot be too strongly urged upon 
teachers and pupils that they do not leave any topic 
which is discussed in this little volume until the mean- 
ing of the language employed has been thoroughly mas- 
tered. While careful effort has been made to state rules 
and principles in plain and ordinary terms, it has been 
impossible to avoid always the use of words and phrases 
peculiar to law books and writings. 

The Constitution also contains many terms not at first 
readily understood by the non-professional reader. In 
most instances of this kind we have given definitions and 
explanations which w T ill enable the young person of ordi- 
nary intelligence to grasp the idea sought to be con- 

7 



8 INTRODUCTION 

veyed. Lack of space has prevented other definitions 
which could have been given with profit ; but the dili- 
gent student can be relied upon to consult the dictionary 
and other available works of reference, whenever he 
finds himself in doubt upon a question of interpretation. 
Equivalent Terms — In the following chapters the 
words " elector" and " voter 55 have been used as hav- 
ing the same meaning Laws enacted by the Legisla- 
ture of the State or by the Congress of the United 
States are spoken, of as "acts," " statutes, 55 u statu- 
tory laws, 55 and " enactments. 5 5 The words 4h road, 55 
i 'public road 55 are treated as of the same signification 
as " highway. 55 The constitutional name of the Senate 
and House of Representatives of the State, when taken 
together as a law-making body, is "The General As- 
sembly of the State of Iowa, 5 5 but in popular usage it 
is more frequently and simply mentioned as " the Leg- 
islature, 55 a usage which we have sometimes followed. 
Other similar instances will be noted by the observant 
reader. 



IOWA 

ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVEKNMENT 

WITH THE 

STATE CONSTITUTION 



TO TEACHERS 



Knowledge of the general nature of our state government and of 
the laws which command our obedience is indispensable to a high 
standard of citizenship, Every man and woman is charged with 
public as well as private responsibilities ; and upon the manner in 
which the young are trained to meet those responsibilities depends 
the destiny of our country. 

To aid in imparting instructions along these lines, the following 
chapters have been written. 

The subject treated is generally, but very erroneously, supposed 
to be too complex and abstruse for any but trained lawyers to under- 
stand. The machinery of our government is remarkable for its sim- 
plicity, and its practical operation can readily be made plain and full 
of interest to every intelligent child. 

Practical illustration of the administration of government, in some 
of its minor features at least, is always at hand for the use of the apt 
instructor ; and such familiar examples as the workiug of public 
roads, annual school meetings, annual and special elections, proceed- 
ings of school directors, city councils, boards of supervisors, mayors, 
and justices of the peace, the assessment and collection of taxes, and 
other similar matters, can be made topics of profitable discussion and 
inquiry. 

Concerning other features not coming within the range of personal 
observation, pupils should be encouraged to go beyond the outline 
lesson and investigate for themselves all available sources of infor- 
mation. 

Among the authorities in easy reach are the Code, containing a 
compilation of all the statutes of general importance; the Official 

9 



10 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

Register, published yearly by the Secretary of State ; the Census Re- 
ports ; reports of all the various State Offices; Annals of Iowa ; Acad- 
emy of Science ; Handbook for Iowa Teachers, published annually 
for free distribution. Of these, the first can be found in the office of 
every lawyer and magistrate ; while the other documents named may 
usually be obtained without expense by applying to the proper 
officer at the State Capitol. 

Many other helps will be discovered by the student who cultivates 
the habit of independent investigation and independent thought. 

No word or phrase, made use of in the text, should be passed until 
its meaning is fully explained and understood. Studied in this 
manner and with this spirit, the time employed upon these pages 
cannot be otherwise than well spent. 



CHAPTER I 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 



TJie heavy face figures in the margin are inserted for convenience 
of reference. 

We, the people of the State of Iowa, grateful to the 
Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feel- 
ing our dependence on Him for a continuation of these 
blessings, do ordain and establish a free and independent 
government, by the name of The State of Iowa, the 
boundaries whereof shall be as follows : 



2 



Beginning in the middle of the main channel of the Missis- 
sippi river, at a point due east of the middle of the mouth of 
the main channel of the Des Moines river, thence up the middle 
of the main channel of the said Des Moines river, to a point on 
said river where the northern boundary line of the State of 
Missouri — as established by the Constitution of that State — 
adopted June 12, 1820 — crosses the said middle of the main 
channel of the said Des Moines river ; thence westwardly 
along the said northern boundary line of the State of Missouri, 
as established at the time aforesaid, until an extension of said 
line intersects the middle of main channel of the Missouri 
river ; thence up the middle of the main channel of the said 

11 



12 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

Missouri river to a point opposite the middle of the main 
channel of the Big Sioux river, according to Nicollett's map ; 
thence up the main channel of the Big Sioux river, accord- 
ing to the said map, until it is intersected by the parallel 
of forty-three degrees and thirty minutes north latitude ; 
thence east along said parallel of forty-three degrees and 
thirty minutes, until said parallel intersects the middle of 
the main channel of the Mississippi river ; thence down the 
middle of the main channel of said Mississippi river to the 
place of beginning. 

Article I. Bill of Rights 

Section 1. Ail men are, by nature, free and equal, and 
have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of en- 
joying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, 
and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety 
and happiness. 

Sec. 2. All political power is inherent to the people. Gov- 
ernment is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit 
of the people, and they have the right, at all times, to alter 
or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it. 

Sec. 3. The General Assembly shall make no law respect- 
ing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exer- 
cise thereof ; nor shall any person be compelled to attend any 
place of worship, pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for building 
or repairing places of worship, or the maintenance of any 
minister, or ministry. 
g Sec. 4. No religious test shall be required as a qualification 
for any office or public trust, and no person shall be deprived 
of any of his rights, privileges, or capacities, or disqualified 
from the performance of any of his public or private duties, 
or rendered incompetent to give evidence in any court of law 
or equity, in consequence of his opinions on the subject of 
religion ; and any party to any judicial proceeding shall have 



8 



9 



10 



11 



12 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 13 

the right to use as a witness, or take the testimony of, any 
other person not disqualified on account of interest, who may 
be cognizant of any fact material to the case ; and parties to 
suits may be witnesses, as provided by law. 

Sec. 5. Any citizen of this State who may hereafter be en- 
gaged, either directly or indirectly, in a duel, either as princi- 
pal, or accessory before the fact, shall forever be disqualified 
from holding any office under the constitution and laws of this 
State. 

Sec. 6. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform 
operation ; the General Assembly shall not grant to any 
citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities which, 
upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens. 

Sec. 7. Every person may speak, write, and publish his 
sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of 
that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the 
liberty of speech, or of the press. In all prosecutions or in- 
dictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence to the 
jury, and if it appear to the jury that the matter charged as 
libelous was true, and was published with good motives and 
for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted. 

Sec. 8. The right of the people to be secure in their per- 
sons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable seizures 
and searches shall not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue 
but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, 
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the 
persons and things to be seized. 

Sec. 9. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate ; 
but the General Assembly may authorize trial by a jury of a 
less number than twelve men in inferior courts ; but no 
person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without 
due process of law. 

Sec. 10. In all criminal prosecutions, and in cases involving 
the life or liberty of an individual, the accused shall have a 



14 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury ; to be 
informed of the accusation against him; to have a copy of the 
same when demanded ; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him ; to have compulsory process for his witnesses ; 
and to have the assistance of counsel. 

13 Sec. lie All offenses less than felony and in which the 
punishment does not exceed a fine of one hundred dollars, or 
imprisonment for thirty days, shall be tried summarily before 
a Justice of the Peace, or other officer authorized by law, on 
information under oath, without indictment, or the interven- 
tion of a grand jury, saving to the defendant the right of ap- 
peal ; and no person shall be held to answer for any higher 
criminal offense, unless on presentment or indictment by a 
grand jury, except in cases arising in the army, or navy, or in 
the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public 
danger. 

; j Sec. 12. No person shall, after acquittal, be tried for the 
same offense. All persons shall, before conviction, be bail- 
able, by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses where 
the proof is evident, or the presumption great. 

J PJ Sec. 13. The writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
or refused when application is made as required by law, un- 
less, in case of rebellion, or invasion, the public safety may 
require it. 

•jfl Sec. 14. The military shall be subordinate to the civil 
power. No standing army shall be kept up by the State in 
time of peace ; and in time of war, no appropriation for a 
standing army shall be for a longer time than two years. 

1^ Sec. 15. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of 
war except in the manner prescribed by law. 

I o Sec. 16. Treason against the State shall consist only in 
levying war against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them 
aid and comfort, No person shall be convicted of treason, un* 



19 



20 



21 



22 



23 
24 



25 
26 

27 
28 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 15 

less on the evidence of two witnesses to the same overt act, or 
confessio"n in open court. 

Sec. 17. Excessive bail shall not be required ; excessive 
fines shall not be imposed, and cruel and unusual punishment 
shall not be inflicted. 

Sec. 18. Private property shall not be taken for public use 
without just compensation first being made, or secured to be 
made, to the owner thereof, as soon as the damages shall be 
assessed by a jury, who shall not take into consideration any 
advantages that may result to said owner on account of the 
improvement for which it is taken. 

Sec. 19. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any 
civil action, on mesne or final process, unless in case of fraud ; 
and no person shall be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of 
peace. 

Sec. 20. The people have the right freely to assemble 
together to counsel for the common good ; to make known 
their opinions to their representatives and to petition for a re- 
dress of grievances. 

Sec. 21. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law im- 
pairing the obligation of contracts shall ever be passed. 

Sec. 22. Foreigners who are, or may hereafter become, 
residents of this State shall enjoy the same rights in respect 
to the possession, enjoyment, and descent of property as 
native-born citizens. 

Sec. 23. There shall be no slavery in this State, nor shall 
there be involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of 
crime. 

Sec. 24. No lease or grant of agricultural lands, reserving 
any rent, or service of any kind, shall be valid for a longer 
period than twenty years. 

Sec. 25. The enumeration of rights shall not be construed 
to impair or deny others, retained by the people. 

[Sec. 26. No person shall manufacture for sale, or sell, or 



16 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 



keep for sale, as a beverage, any intoxicating liquors what 
ever, including ale, wine, and beer. The General Assembly 
shall by law prescribe regulations for the enforcement of the 
prohibition herein contained, and shall thereby provide suita- 
ble penalties for the violation of the provision hereof.] 

[The foregoing amendment was adopted at a special election 
held on June 27, 1882, The supreme court, April 21, 1883, in 
the case of Koehler & Lange vs. Hill, and reported in 60th 
Iowa, page 543, held that, owing to certain irregularities, the 
same was not legally submitted to the electors, and did not be- 
come apart of the constitution.] 



29 



30 



31 



32 
33 



34 



Article II. Right of Suffrage 

Section 1. Every [white] male citizen of the United States, 
of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident 
of this State six months next preceding the election, and of 
the county in which he claims his vote sixty days, shall be 
entitled to vote at all elections which are now or hereafter 
may be authorized by law. 

{Amended by striking out the word " white" at the general 
election in 1868.] 

Sec. 2. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony, 
or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest on the days 
of election, during their attendance at such elections, going to 
and returning therefrom. 

Sec. 3. No elector shall be obliged to perform military duty 
on the day of election, except in time of war or public danger. 

Sec. 4. No person in the military, naval, or marine service 
of the United States shall be considered a resident of this 
State by being stationed in any garrison, barrack, or military 
or naval place or station within this State. 

Sec. 5. No idiot, or insane person, or person convicted of 
any infamous crime shall be entitled to the privilege of an 
elector. 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 17 

35 Sec. 6. All elections by the people shall be by ballot. 
[Amendment.] The general election for State, district, 

county, and township officers shall be held on the Tuesday 
next after the first Monday in November. 

[The foregoing amendment was adopted at the general 
election in 1884.] 

Article III. Of the Distribution of Powers 

36 Section 1. The powers of the government of Iowa shall be 
divided into three separate departments — the Legislative, the 
Executive, and the Judicial ; and no person charged with the 
exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these depart- 
ments shall exercise any function appertaining to either of the 
others, except in cases hereinafter expressly directed or per- 
mitted. 

Legislative Department. 

3^ Section 1. The Legislative authority of this State shall be 
vested in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate 
and House of Representatives ; and the style of every law 
shall be : 

"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of 
Iowa.' 1 

3g Sec. 2. The sessions of the General Assembly shall be 
biennial, and shall commence on the second Monday in Janu- 
ary next ensuing the election of its members ; unless the 
Governor of the State shall, in the meantime, convene the 
General Assembly by proclamation. 

30 Sec. 3. The members of the House of Representatives shall 
be chosen every second year by the qualified electors of their 
respective districts, on the Tuesday next after the first Mon- 
day in November ; and their term of office shall commence on 
the first day of January next after their election, and continue 
two years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. 

40 Sec. 4. No person shall be a member of the House of 
Representatives who shall not have attained the age of 



18 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

twenty-one years, be a [free white] male citizen of the United 
States, and shall have been an inhabitant of this State one 
year next preceding his election, and at the time of his 
election shall have had an actual residence of sixty days in the 
county or district he may have been chosen to represent. 

[Amended by striking out the words "free white/ 1 at the 
general election in 1880.] 

4 1 Sec. 5. Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, 
at the same time and place as Representatives ; they shall be 
twenty-five years of age, and possess the qualifications of 
Representatives as to residence and citizenship. 

42 Sec. 6. The number of Senators shall not be less than one- 
third, nor more than one-half the Representative body ; and 
shall be so classified, by lot, that one class, being as nearly 
one-half as possible, shall be elected every two years. When 
the number of Senators is increased, they shall be annexed by 
lot to one or the other of the two classes, so as to keep them 
as nearly equal in numbers as practicable. 

4.3 Sec. 7. Each house shall choose its own officers, and judge 
of the qualification, election, and return of its own members. 
A contested election shall be determined in such manner as 
shall be directed by law. 

4:4: Sec. 8. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum 
to transact business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from 
day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members 
in such manner and under such penalties as each house may 
provide. 

45 Sec. 9. Each house shall sit upon its own adjournments, 
keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same ; de- 
termine its rules of proceedings, punish members for dis- 
orderly behavior, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel 
a member, but not a second time for the same offense ; and 
shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the 
General Assembly of a free and independent State. 



46 



47 



48 



49 



50 



51 



52 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 10 

Sec. 10. Every member of the General Assembly shall 
have the liberty to dissent from, or protest against, any act or 
resolution which he may think injurious to the public or an 
individual, and have the reasons for his dissent entered on the 
journals ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either 
house, on any question, shall, at the desire of any two mem- 
bers present, be entered on the journals. 

Sec. 11. Senators and representatives, in all cases, except » 
treason, felony, or breach of the peace, shall be privileged 
from arrest during the session of the General Assembly, and 
in going to and returning from the same. 

Sec. 12. When vacancies occur in either house, the Gov- 
ernor, or the person exercising the functions of Governor, 
shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

Sec. 13. The doors of each house shall be open, except on 
such occasions as, in the opinion of the house, may require 
secrecy. 

Sec. 14. Neither house shall, without the consent of the 
other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
place than that in which they may be sitting. 

Sec. 15. Bills may originate in either house, and may be 
amended, altered, or rejected by the other ; and every bill, 
having passed both houses, shall be signed by the Speaker 
and President of their respective houses. 

Sec. 16. Every bill which shall have passed the General 
Assembly shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the 
Governor. If he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall 
return it, with his objections, to the house in which it origi- 
nated, which shall enter the same upon their journal, and 
proceed to reconsider it ; if, after such reconsideration, it 
again pass both houses, by yeas and nays, by a majority of 
two-thirds of the members of each house, it shall become a 
law, notwithstanding the Governor's objections. If any bill 
shall not be returned within three days after it shall have 



20 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

been presented to him, Sunday excepted, the same shall be a 
law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General 
Assembly, by adjournment, prevent such return. Any bill 
submitted to the Governor for his approval during" the last 
three days of a session of the General Assembly, shall be de- 
posited by him in the office of the Secretary of State, within 
thirty days after the adjournment, with his approval, if ap- 
proved by him, and with his objections, if he disapproves 
thereof. 

go Sec. 17. No bill shall be passed unless by the assent of a 
majority of all the members elected to each branch of the 
General Assembly, and the question upon the final passage 
shall be taken immediately upon its last reading, and the 
yeas and nays entered on the journal. 

PJ4_ Sec. 18. An accurate statement of the receipts and expendi- 
tures of the public money shall be attached to and published 
with the laws, at every regular session of the General As- 
sembly. 

KK Sec. 19. The House of Representatives shall have the sole 
power of impeachment, and all impeachments shall be tried 
by the Senate. When sitting for that purpose, the senators 
shall be upon oath or affirmation; and no person shall be con- 
victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members 
present. 

K Q Sec. 20. The Governor, Judges of the Supreme and District 
Courts, and other State officers shall be liable to impeach- 
ment for any misdemeanor or malfeasance in office ; but judg- 
ment in such cases shall extend only to removal from office, 
and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit 
under this State ; but the party convicted or acquitted shall 
nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment 
according to law. All other civil officers shall be tried for 
misdemeanors and malfeasance in office, in such manner as 
the General Assembly may provide. 



57 



58 



59 



60 
61 



62 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 21 

Sec. 21. No senator or representative shall, during the 
time for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to 
any civil office of profit under this State which shall have 
been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been in- 
creased, during such term, except such offices as may be filled 
by elections by the people. 

Sec. 22. No person holding any lucrative office under the 
United States, or this State, or any other power, shall be 
eligible to hold a seat in the General Assembly ; but offices in 
the militia to which there is attached no annual salary, or the 
office of justice of the peace, or postmaster whose compensa- 
tion does not exceed one hundred dollars per annum, or notary 
public, shall not be deemed lucrative. 

Sec. 23. No person who may hereafter be a collector or 
holder of public moneys shall have a seat in either House of 
the General Assembly, or be eligible to hold any office of 
trust or profit in this State, until he shall have accounted for 
and paid into the treasury all sums for which he may be 
liable. 

Sec. 24. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in 
consequence of appropriations made by law. 

Sec. 25. Each member of the first General Assembly under 
this Constitution shall receive three dollars per diem while in 
session ; and the further sum of three dollars for every 
twenty miles traveled, in going to and returning from the 
place where such session is held, by the nearest traveled 
route ; after which they shall receive such compensation as 
shall be fixed by law ; but no General Assembly shall have 
power to increase the compensation of its own members. And 
when convened in extra session they shall receive the same 
mileage and per diem compensation as fixed by law for the 
regular session, and none other. 

Sec. 26. No law of the General Assembly, passed at a 
regular session, of a public nature, shall take effect until the 



22 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

fourth day of July next after the passage thereof. Laws 
passed at a special session shall take effect ninety days after 
the adjournment of the General Assembly by which they were 
passed." If the General Assembly shall deem any law of im- 
mediate importance, they may provide that the same shall 
take effect by publication in newspapers in the State. 

63 Sec. 27. No divorce shall be granted by the General 
Assembly. 

64 Sec. 28. No lottery shall be authorized by this State ; nor 
shall the sale of lottery tickets be allowed. 

65 Sec. 29. Every act shall embrace but one subject, and mat- 
ters properly connected therewith ; which subject shall be 
expressed in the title. But if any subject shall be embraced 
in an act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act 
shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be ex- 
pressed in the title. 

66 Sec. 30. The General Assembly shall not pass local or 
special laws in the following cases : 

For the assessment and collection of taxes for State, county, 
or road purposes ; 

For laying out, opening, and working roads^or highways ; 

For changing the names of persons ; 

For the incorporation of cities and towns ; 

For vacating, roads, town plats, streets, alleys, or public 
squares ; 

For locating or changing county seats. 

67 I n a ^ tne c ases above enumerated, and in all other cases 
where a general law can be made applicable, all laws shall be 
general, and of uniform operation throughout the State ; and 
no law changing the boundary lines of any county shall have 
effect until upon being submitted to the people of the counties 
affected by the change, at a general election, it shall be ap- 
proved by a majority of the votes in each county, cast for and 
against it. 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 23 

68 Sec. 31. No extra compensation shall be made to any officer, 
public agent, or contractor after the service shall Lave been 
rendered, or the contract entered into ; nor shall any money 
be paid on any claim the subject-matter of which shall not 
have been provided for by pre-existing laws, and no public 
money or property shall be appropriated for local or private 
purposes, unless such appropriation, compensation, or claim 
be allowed by two- thirds of the members elected to each 
branch of the General Assembly. 

169 Sec. 32. Members of the General Assembly shall, before 
they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, take and 
subscribe the following oath or affirmation : " I do solemnly 
swear [or affirm, as the case may be] that I will support the 
Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the 
State of Iowa, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties 
of Senator [or Representative, as the case may be] according 
to the best of my ability." And members of the General 
Assembly are hereby empowered to administer to each other 
the said oath or affirmation. 

*yQ Sec. 33. The General Assembly shall, in the years One 
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, One thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-three, One thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-five, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, One 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, and One thousand 
eight hundred and seventy-five, and every ten years there- 
after, cause an enumeration to be made of all the [white] in- 
habitants of the State. 

[Amended by striking out the word " white" at the general 
election in 1868.] 

\ I Sec. 34. The Senate shall be composed of fifty members 

to be elected from the several sensatorial districts, estab- 
lished by law and at the next session of the General As- 
sembly held following the taking of the State and national 
census, they shall be apportioned among the several counties 



24 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 



12 



13 



74, 



75 



or districts of the State, according to population as shown 
by the last preceding census. 

Sec. 35. The House of Representatives shall consist of 
not more than one hundred and eight members. The ratio 
of representation shall be determined by dividing the whole 
number of the population of the State as shown by the last 
preceding State or national census, by the whole number 
of counties then existing or organized, but each county 
shall constitute one representative district and be entitled 
to one representative, but each county having a population 
in excess of the ratio number, as herein provided of three- 
fifths or more of such ratio number shall be entitled to 
one additional representative, but said addition shall ex- 
tend only to the nine counties having the greatest popula- 
tion. 

Sec. 36. The General Assembly shall, at the first reg- 
ular session held following the adoption of this amend- 
ment, and at e,ach succeeding regular session held next 
after the taking of such census, fix the ratio of repre- 
sentation, and apportion the additional representatives, as 
hereinbefore required. 

[Amended at general election in 1904.] 

Sec. 37. When a congressional, senatorial, or repre- 
sentative district shall be composed of two or more coun- 
ties, it shall not be entirely separated by any county 
belonging to another district; and no county shall be 
divided in forming a congressional, senatorial, or repre- 
sentative district. 

Sec. 38. In all elections by the General Assembly, the 
members thereof shall vote viva voce, and the votes shall 
be entered on the journal. 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 25 



Article IV.' Executive Department 

*76 Section 1. The Supreme Executive power of the State 
shall be vested in a Chief Magistrate, who shall be styled the 
Governor of the State of Iowa. 

Sec. 2, The Governor shall be elected by the qualified 
electors at the time and place of voting for members of the 
Genera] Assembly, and shall hold his office two years from 
the time of his installation and until his successor is elected 
and qualified. 

^ g Sec. 3. There shall be a Lieutenant Governor, who shall 
hold his office two years, and be elected at the same time as 
the Governor. In voting for Governor and Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor, the electors shall designate for whom they vote as Gov- 
ernor, and for whom as Lieutenant Governor. The returns of 
every election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall 
be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government of the 
State, directed to the Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives, who shall open and publish them in . the presence of 
both Houses of the General Assembly. 

Y 9 Sec. 4. The persons respectively having the highest num- 
ber of votes for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be 
declared duly elected; but in case two or more persons shall 
have an equal and the highest number of votes for either 
office, the General Assembly shall, by joint vote, forthwith 
proceed to elect one of said persons Governor, or Lieutenant 
Governor, as the case may be. 

80 Sec. 5. Contested elections for Governor or Lieutenant 
Governor shall be determined by the General Assembly in 
such manner as may be prescribed by law. 

81 Sec. 6. No person shall be eligible to the office of Gov- 
ernor or Lieutenant Governor who shall not have been a 
citizen of the United States, and a resident of the State, two 



26 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 



82 
83 



84 
85 



86 



87 
88 



89 



years next preceding the election, and attained the age of 
thirty years at the time of said election. 

Sec. 7. The Governor shall be commander in chief of the 
militia, the army, and navy of this State. 

Sec. 8. He shall transact all executive business with the 
officers of government, civil and military, and may require in- 
formation in writing from the officers of the executive depart- 
ment upon any subject relating to the duties of their respec- 
tive offices. 

Sec. 9. He shall take care that the laws are faithfully 
executed. 

Sec. 10. When any office shall, from any cause, become 
vacant, and no mode is provided by the Constitution and laws 
for filling such vacancy, the Governor shall have power to 
fill such vacancy, by granting a commission, which shall ex- 
pire at the end of the next session of the General Assembly, 
or at the next election by the people. 

Sec. 11. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the 
General Assembly, by proclamation, and shall state to both 
Houses, when assembled, the purpose for which they shall 
have been convened. 

Sec. 12. He shall communicate, by message, to the General 
Assembly, at every regular session, the condition- of the State, 
and recommend such matters as he shall deem expedient. 

Sec. 13. In case of disagreement between the two Houses 
with respect to the time of adjournment, the Governor shall 
have power to adjourn the General Assembly to such time as 
he may think proper ; but no such adjournment shall be be- 
yond the time fixed for the regular meeting of 'the next Gen« 
eral Assembly, 

Sec. 14. No person shall, while holding any office under- 
the authority of the United States, or this State, execute the 
office of Governor, or Lieutenant Governor, except as herein 
after expressly providedo 



90 



91 



92 



93 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 27 

Sec. 15. The official term of the Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor shall commence on the second Monday of January 
after their election, and continue for two years and until their 
next successors are elected and qualified. The Lieutenant 
Governor, while acting as Governor, shall receive the same pay 
as provided for Governor ; and while presiding in the Senate, 
shall receive as compensation therefor the same mileage and 
double the per diem pay provided for a Senator, and none 
other. 

Sec. 16. The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves, 
commutations, and pardons, after conviction, for all offenses 
except treason and cases of impeachment, subject to such 
regulations, as may be provided by law. Upon conviction for 
treason, he shall have power to suspend the execution of the 
sentence until the case shall be reported to the General As- 
sembly at its next meeting, when the General Assembly shall 
either grant a pardon, commute the sentence, direct the exe- 
cution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. He shall 
have power to remit fines and forfeitures, under such regula- 
tions as may be prescribed by law ; and shall report to the 
General Assembly, at its next meeting, each case of reprieve, 
commutation, or pardon granted, and the reason therefor ; and 
also all persons in whose favor remission of fines and for- 
feitures shall have been made, and the several amounts remitted. 

Sec. 17. In case of the death, impeachment, resignation, 
removal from office, or other disabilities of the Governor, the 
powers and duties of the office for the residue of the term, or 
until he shall be acquitted, or the disability removed, shall 
devolve on the Lieutenant Governor. 

Sec. 18. The Lieutenant Governor shall be President of 
the Senate, but shall only vote when the Senate is equally 
divided ; and in case of his absence or impeachment, or 
when he shall exercise the office of Governor, the Senate shall 
choose a President pro tempore. 



28 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

Q4: Sec. 19. If tlie Lieutenant Governor, while acting as Gov- 
ernor, shall be impeached, displaced, resign, or die, or other- 
wise become incapable of performing the duties of the office, 
the President pro tempore of the Senate shall act as Governor 
until the vacancy is filled or the disability removed ; and if 
the President of the Senate, for any of the above causes, shall 
be rendered incapable of performing the duties pertaining to 
the office of Governor, the same shall devolve upon the 
Speaker of the House of representatives. 

05 Sec. 20. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be 
kept by the Governor, and used by him officially, and shall be 
called the Great Seal of the State of Iowa. 

00 Sec. 21. All grants and commissions shall be in the name 
and by the authority of the people of the State of Iowa, sealed 
with the Great Seal of the State, signed by the Governor, and 
countersigned by the Secretary of State. 

Q »y Sec. 22. A Secretary of State, Auditor of State, and Treasurer 
of State shall be elected by the qualified electors, who shall 
continue in office two years, and until their successors are 
elected and qualified ; and perform such duties as may be re- 
quired by law. 



98 



99 



100 



Article V. Judicial Department 

Section 1. The Judicial power shall be Vested in a Supreme 
Court, District Court, and such other courts, inferior to the 
Supreme Court, as the General Assembly may, from time to 
time, establish. . , 

Sec. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of three judges, 
two of whom shall constitute a quorum to hold court. 

[The court now consists of six judges.] 

Sec. 3. The judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected 
by the qualified electors of the State, and shall hold their 
court at such time and place as the General Assembly may 
prescribe. The judges of the Supreme Court so elected shall 
be classified so that one judge shall go out of office every two 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 29 

years ; and the judge holding the shortest term of office under 
such classification shall be Chief Justice of the court, during 
his term, and so on in rotation. After the expiration of their 
terms of office, under such classification, the term of each 
Judge of the Supreme Court shall be six years, and until his 
successor shall have been elected and qualified. The judges 
of the Supreme Court shall be ineligible to any other office in 
the State during the term for which they shall have been 
elected. 

101 Sec. 4. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction 
only in cases in chancery, and shall constitute a court for the 
correction of errors at law, under such restrictions as the Gen- 
eral Assembly may, by law, prescribe ; and shall have power 
to issue all writs and process necessary to secure justice to 
parties, and exercise a supervisory control over all inferior 
Judicial tribunals throughout the State. 

102 Sec. 5. The District Court shall consist of a single judge, 
who shall be elected by the qualified electors of the district in 
which he resides. The judge of the District Court shall hold 
his office for the term of four years and until his successor 
shall have been elected and qualified ; and shall be ineligible 
to any other office, except that of judge of the Supreme Court, 
during the term for which he was elected. 

103 Sec. 6. The District Court shall be a court of law and equity, 
which shall be distinct and separate jurisdictions, and have 
jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters arising in their re- 
spective districts, in such manner as shall be prescribed by 
law. 

104: Sec. 7. The judges of the Supreme and District Courts shall 
be conservators of the peace throughout the State. 

105 Sec. 8. The style of all process shall be " The State of 
Iowa/' and all prosecutions shall be conducted in the name 
and by the authority of the same. 

106' Sec. 9. The salary of each judge of the Supreme Court shall 



30 IOWA, ITS STATE AXD LOCAL GOVERXMEXT 

be two thousand dollars per annum ; and that of each district 
judge, one thousand six hundred dollars per annum, until the 
year eighteen hundred and sixty ; after which time they shall 
severally receive such compensation as the General Assembly 
may, by law, prescribe ; which compensation shall not be in- 
creased or diminished during the term for which they shall 
have been elected. 

107 Sec. 10. The State shall be divided into eleven Judicial Dis- 
tricts ; and after the year eighteen hundred and sixty, the 
General Assembly may reorganize the judicial districts and 
increase or diminish the number of districts, or the number 
of judges of the said court, and may increase the number of 
judges of the Supreme Court ; but such increase or diminu- 
tion shall not be more than one district, or one judge of either 
court, at any one session ; and no reorganization of the dis- 
tricts, or diminution of the number of judges, shall have 
the effect of removing a judge from office. Such reorganiza- 
tion of the districts, or any change in the boundaries thereof, 
or increase or diminution of the number of judges, shall take 
place every four years thereafter, if necessary, and at no other 
time. 

108 [Amendment.] At any regular session of the General As- 
sembly, the State may be divided into the necessary judicial 
districts for District Court purposes, or the said districts may 
be reorganized and the number of the districts and the judges 
of said courts increased or diminished ; but no reorganization 
of the districts or diminution of the judges shall have the 
effect of removing a judge from office. 

[The foregoing amendment was adopted at the general elec- 
tion in 1884.] 

109 $ EC - 11. The judges of the Supreme and District Courts 
shall be chosen at the general election ; and the term oT office 
of each judge shall commence on the first day of January next, 
after his election. 



COXSTITUTION OF IOWA 31 

110 Sec. 12, The General Assembly shall provide, by law, for 
the election of an Attorney General by the people, whose term 
of office shall be two years and until his successor shall have 
been elected and qualified. 

} I | [Sec. 18. The qualified electors of each Judicial District shall, 
at the time of the election of Distinct Judge, elect a District At- 
torney, 'who shall be a resident of the district for which he is 
elected, and who shall hold his office for the term of four years 
and until his successor shall have been elected and qualified.'] 

[The foregoing section was stricken out and the following sub- 
stituted therefor at the general election in 188 4.] 

1 12 [Sec. 13.] The qualified electors of each county shall, at 
the general election in the year 1886, and every two years 
thereafter, elect a county attorney, who shall be a resident of 
the county for which he is elected, and shall hold his office for 
two years and until his successor shall have been elected and 
qualified. 

[The foregoing section was adopted as a substitute for the 
original section at the general election in 1884.] 

1 13 ^ec. 14. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to 
provide for the carrying into effect of this article, and to pro- 
vide for a general system of practice in all the courts of this 
State. 

I 1 ; [Amendment.] The grand jury may consist of any number 
of members, not less than five nor more than fifteen, as the 
General Assembly may by law provide, or the General Assem- 
bly may provide for holding persons to answer for any criminal 
offense without the interference of a grand jury. 

[The foregoing amendment was adopted at the general elec- 
tion in 1884.] 



115 



Article VI. Militia 

Section 1. The militia of this State shall be composed of all 
able-bodied [ichite] male citizens between the ages of eighteen 



32 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 



and forty-five years, except such as are, or may hereafter be, 
exempt by the laws of the United States or of this State, and 
shall be armed, equipped, and trained as the General Assem- 
bly may provide by law. 

[Amended by striking out the word" white" at the general 
election in 1868.'] 

Sec. 2. No person or persons conscientiously scrupulous of 
bearing arms shall be compelled to do military duty in time of 
peace ; provided, that such person or persons shall pay an 
equivalent for such exemption in the same manner as other 
citizens. 

Sec. 3. All commissioned officers of the militia (staff officers 
excepted) shall be elected by the persons liable to perform 
military duty, and shall be commissioned by the Governor. 



116 



117 



118 



119 



120 



Article VII. State Debts 

Section 1. The credit of the State shall not, in any manner, 
be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual, association, 
or corporation ; and the State shall never assume, or become 
responsible for, the debts or liabilities of any individual, asso- 
ciation, or corporation, unless incurred in time of war for the 
benefit of the State. 

Sec. 2. The State may contract debts to supply casual defi- 
cits or failures in revenues, or to meet expenses not otherwise 
provided for ; but the aggregate amount of such debts, direct 
and contingent, whether contracted by virtue of one or more 
acts of the General Assembly, or at different periods of time, 
shall never exceed the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars ; and the money arising from the creation of such 
debts shall be applied to the purpose for which it was obtained, 
or to repay the debts so contracted, and to no other purpose 
whatever. 

Sec. 3. All losses to the permanent, School, or University 
fund of this State which shall have been occasioned by the 



121 



122 



123 



COXSTTTJJTION OF IOWA 33 

defalcation, mismanagement, or fraud of the agents or officers 
controlling and managing the same, shall be audited by the 
proper authorities of the State. The amount so audited shall 
be a permanent funded debt against the State, in favor of the 
respective fund sustaining the loss, upon which not less than 
six per cent, annual interest shall be paid. The amount of 
liability so created shall not be counted as a part of the in- 
debtedness authorized by the second section of this article. 

Sec. 4. In addition to the above limited power to contract 
debts, the State may contract debts to repel invasion, suppress 
insurrection, or defend the State in war ; but the money aris- 
ing from the debts so contracted shall be applied to the pur- 
pose for which it was raised, or to repay such debts, and to no 
other purpose whatever. 

Sec. 5. Except the debts hereinbefore specified in this 
article, no debt shall be hereafter contracted by or on behalf 
of this State, unless such debt shall be authorized by some law 
for some single work or object, to be distinctly specified therein ; 
and such law shall impose and provide for the collection of a 
direct annual tax, sufficient to pay the interest on such debt, 
as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal of 
such debt, within twenty years from the time of contracting 
thereof ; but no such law shall take effect until at a general 
election it shall have been submitted to the people, and have 
received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at 
such election ; and all money raised by authority of such law 
shall be applied only to the specific object therein stated, or to 
the payment of the debt created thereby ; and such law shall 
be published in at least one newspaper in each county, if one 
is published therein, throughout the State, for three months 
preceding the election at which it is submitted to the people. 

Sec. 6. The Legislature may, at any time after the approval 
of such law by the people, if no debt shall have been contracted 
in pursuance thereof, repeal the same ; and may, at any time, 



34 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 



forbid the contracting of any further debt, or liability, under 
such law ; but the tax imposed by such law, in proportion to 
the debt or liability, which may have been contracted in pur- 
suance thereof, shall remain in force and be irrepealable, and 
be annually collected, until the principal and interest are fully 
paid. 

Sec. 7. Every law which imposes, continues, or revives a 
tax shall distinctly state the tax, and the object to which it is 
to be applied ; and it shall not be sufficient to refer to any 
other law to fix such tax or object. 



124 



125 



126 
127 



128 



129 



130 



Article VIII. Corporations 

Section 1. No corporation shall be created by special laws ; 
but the General Assembly shall provide, by general laws, for 
the organization of all corporations hereafter to be created, ex- 
cept as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 2. The property of all corporations for pecuniary profit 
shall be subject to taxation, the same as that of individuals. 

Sec. 3. The State shall not become a stockholder in any cor- 
poration; nor shall it assume or pay the debt or liability of any 
corporation unless incurred in time of war for the benefit of 
the State. 

Sec. 4. No political or municipal corporation shall "become 
a stockholder in any banking corporation, directly or in- 
directly. 

Sec. 5. No act of the General Assembly, authorizing or 
creating corporations or associations with banking powers, nor 
amendments thereto, shall take effect, or in any manner be in 
force, until the same shall have been submitted, separately, to 
the people, at a general or special election, as provided by law, 
to be held not less than three months after the passage of the 
act, and shall have been approved by a majority of all the 
electors voting for and against it at such election. 

Sec. 6. Subject to the provisions of the foregoing section, 



131 



132 



133 



134 
135 
136 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 35 

the General Assembly may also provide for the establishment 
of a State Bank with branches. 

Sec. 7. If a State Bank be established, it shall be founded 
on an actual specie basis, and the branches shall be mutually 
responsible for each other's liabilities upon all notes, bills, and 
other issues intended for circulation as money. 

Sec. 8. If a general Banking law shall be enacted, it shall 
provide for the registry and countersigning, by an officer of 
State, of all bills, or paper credit designed to circulate as 
money, and require security to the full amount thereof, to be 
deposited with the State Treasurer, in United States stocks, or 
in interest paying stocks of States in good credit and standing, 
to be rated at ten per cent, below their average value in the 
city of New York, for the thirty days next preceding their 
deposit ; and in case of a depreciation of any portion of said 
stocks, to the amount of ten per cent, on the dollar, the bank 
or banks owning such stocks shall be required to make up said 
deficiency by depositing additional stocks ; and said law shall 
also provide for the recording of the names of all stockholders 
in such corporations, the amount of stock held by each, the 
time of any transfer, and to whom. 

Sec. 9. Every stockholder in a banking corporation or insti- 
tution shall be individually responsible and liable to its credi- 
tors, over and above the amount of stock by him or her held, 
to an amount equal to his or her respective shares so held, for 
all of its liabilities accruing while he or she remains such 
stockholder. 

Sec. 10. In case of the insolvency of any banking institution, 
the bill-holders shall have a preference over its other creditors. 

Sec. 11. The suspension of specie payments by banking in< 
stitutions shall never be permitted or sanctioned. 

Sec. 12. Subject to the provisions of this article, the General 
Assembly shall have power to amend or repeal all laws for the 
organization or creation of corporations, or granting of special 



36 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

or exclusive privileges or immunities, by a vote of two thirds 
of each branch of the General Assembly ; and no exclusive 
privileges, except as in this article provided, shall ever be 
granted. 



137 



138 



139 
140 



141 



Article IX, Education and School Lands 

1st. Education 

[Sections 1 to 15 of this Article created a Board of Education 
having potcer to legislate and make rules in relation to tin 
schools of the State, but gave the General Assembly power to 
abolish such Board after the pear 1863. Under this power the 
Board of Education was abolished by legislative enactment in 
the year 1864, and the sections referred to are here omitted ci 
no longer of practical importance. 

2d, School Funds and School Lands 

Section l. #r The educational and school funds and lands 
shall be under the control and management of the General As* 
sembly of this State. 

Sec. 2 The University lands, and the proceeds thereof, and 
all moneys belonging to said fund shall be a permanent fund 
for the sole use of the State University. . The interest arising 
from the same shall be annually appropriated for the support 
and benefit of said University. 

Sec. 3. The General Assembly shall encourage, by all suit* 
able means, the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and 
agricultural improvement. The proceeds of all lands that 
have been, or hereafter may be, granted by the United State 
to this State, for the support of schools, which may have been 
or shall hereafter be sold or disposed of, and the five hun- 
dred thousand acres of land granted to the new States, under 
an act of Congress distributing the proceeds of the public 
lands among the several States of the Union, approved in the 



142 



143 



144 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 37 

year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, 
and all estates of deceased persons who may have died with- 
out leaving a will or heir, and also such per cent, as has been 
or may hereafter be granted by Congress, on the sale of lands 
in this State, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, the in- 
terest of which, together with all rents of the unsold lands. 
and such other means as the General Assembly may provide, 
shall be inviolably appropriated to the support of common 
schools throughout the State. 

Sec. 4. The money which may have been or shall be paid 
by persons as an equivalent for exemption from military duty, 
and the clear proceeds of all fines collected in the several 
counties for any breach of the penal laws, shall be exclusively 
applied, in the several counties in which such money is paid, 
or fine collected, among the several school districts of said 
counties, in proportion to the number of youths subject to 
enumeration in such districts, to the support of common 
schools, or the establishment of libraries, as the Board of 
Education shall from time to time provide. 

Sec. 5. The General Assembly shall take measures for the 
protection, improvement, or other disposition of such lands as 
have been or may hereafter be reserved or granted by the 
United States, or any person or persons, to this State, for the 
use of the University and the funds accruing from the rents 
or sale of such lands, or from any other source for the pur* 
pose aforesaid, shall be and remain a permanent fund, the 
interest of which shall be applied to the support of said Uni- 
versity, for the promotion of literature, the arts and sciences, 
as may be authorized by the terms of such grant. And it 
shall be the duty of the General Assembly as soon as may be 
to provide effectual means for the improvement and perma- 
nent security of the funds of said University. 

Sec. 6. The financial agents of the school funds shall be 
the same that, by law, receive and control the State and 



38 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 



145 



146 



147 



148 



county revenue for other civil purposes, under such regula- 
tions as may be provided by law, 

Sec. 7. The money subject to the support and maintenance 
of common schools shall be distributed to the districts in pro- 
portion to the number of youths between the ages of five and 
twenty -one years, in such manner as may be provided by the 
General Assembly. 

Article X. Amendments to the Constitution 

Section 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitu- 
tion may be proposed in either House of the General Assem- 
bly ; and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the 
members elected to each of the two Houses, such proposed 
amendment shall be entered on their journals, with the yeas 
and nays taken thereon, and referred to the Legislature to be 
chosen at the next general election, and shall be published, as 
provided by law, for three months previous to the time of 
making sucluchoice ; and if, in the General Assembly so next 
chosen as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or amendments 
shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected 
to each House, then it shall be the duty of the General As- 
sembly to submit such proposed amendment or amendments 
to the people, in such manner and at such time as the Gen- 
eral Assembly shall provide; and if the people shall approve 
and ratify such amendment or amendments, by a majority of 
the electors qualified to vote for members of the General 
Assembly voting thereon, such amendment or amendments 
shall become a part of the Constitution of this State. 

Sec. 2. If two or more amendments shall be submitted at 
the same time, they shall be submitted in such manner that 
the electors shall vote for or against each of such amendments 
separately. 

Sec. 3. At the general election to be held in the year one 
thousand eight hundred and seventy, and in each tenth year 



149 



150 



151 



152 
153 



CONSTITUTION OF IOWA 39 

thereafter, and also at such times as the General Assembly 
may, by law, provide, the question, "Shall there be a Con- 
vention to revise the Constitution, and amend the same?" 
shall be decided by the electors qualified to vote for members 
of the General Assembly ; and in case a majority of the 
electors so qualified, voting at such election for and against 
such proposition, shall decide in favor of a convention for such 
purpose, the General Assembly, at its next session, shall prov 
vide by law for the election of delegates to such Convention. 

Article XI. Miscellaneous 

Section 1. The jurisdiction of Justices of the Peace shall 
extend to all civil cases (except cases in chancery and cases 
where the question of title to real estate may arise) where the 
amount in controversy does not exceed one hundred dollars, 
and by the consent of parties may be extended to any amount 
not exceeding three hundred dollars. 

Sec. 2. No new county shall be hereafter created containing 
less than four hundred and thirty-two square miles ; nor shall 
the territory of any organized county be reduced below that 
area ; except the County of Worth, and the counties west of 
it, along the Northern boundary of this State, may be organized 
without additional territory. 

Sec. 3. No county, or other political or municipal corpora- 
tion, shall be allowed to become indebted in any manner or 
•for any purpose to an amount, in the aggregate, exceeding 
five per centum on the value of the taxable property within 
such county or corporation — to be ascertained by the last State 
and county tax lists, previous to the incurring of such in- 
debtedness. 

Sec. 4. The boundaries of the State may be enlarged, with 
the consent of Congress and the General Assembly. 

Sec. 5. Every person elected or appointed to any office shall, 
before entering upon the duties thereof, take an oath or affir- 



40 IOWA, ITS STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 



151 



155 



156 



157 



158 
159 



raation to support the Constitution of the United States, and 
of this State, and also an oath of office. 

Sec. 6. In all cases of elections to fill vacancies in office, 
occurring before the expiration of a full term, the person so 
elected shall hold for the residue of the unexpired term ; and 
all persons appointed to fill vacancies in office shall hold until 
the next general election and until their successors are elected 
and qualified. 

Sec. 7. The General Assembly shall not locate any of the 
public lands which have been or may be granted by Congress 
to this State, and the location of which may be given to the 
General Assembly, upon lands actually settled, without the 
consent of the occupant. The extent of the claim of such 
occupant, so exempted, shall not exceed three hundred and 
twenty acres. 

Sec. 8. The seat of government is hereby permanently estab- 
lished, as now fixed by law, at the city of Des Moines, in the 
County of Polk ; and the State University at Iowa City, in the 
County of Johnson. 

Article XII. Schedule 

Section 1. This Constitution shall be the supreme law of 
the State, and any law inconsistent therewith shall be void. 
The General Assembly shall pass all laws necessary to carry 
this Constitution into effect. 

Sec. 2. All laws now in force and not inconsistent with this 
Constitution shall remain in force until they shall expire or 
be repealed. 

[The remaining sections prescribing when and how the Consti- 
tution shall go into effect, the time of holding the first election 
thereunder, and other similar provisions, having served their 
temporary purpose, are here omitted.] 



CHAPTER II 

IOWA IK HISTORY 

i. Discovery. (1673) — Prior to the year 1673, 
that portion of the United States embracing the 
present State of Iowa was wholly unknown to the 
civilized world. At that date the hardy French 
explorers, Joliet and Marquette, with five fol- 
lowers, made their way in birch canoes from 
Green Bay up the Fox River, and thence down the 
Wisconsin River to its junction with the Mississ- 
ippi. Turning their frail craft southward, these 
brave men followed the course of the great un- 
known stream as far as the mouth of the Ar- 
kansas, and thus revealed to man the beauty and 
promise of the northwest. 

2. Claimed by France — By virtue of these dis- 
coveries, all the western half of the great Mis- 
sissippi Valley was claimed by France as a part 
of her domain; but, so far as history discloses, 
Iowa thereafter remained unvisited by white men 
for more than a century. 

3. Ceded to Spain. (1763)— In the year 1763, 
France, being engaged in war with England, and 
finding it difficult to defend her foreign provinces, 
ceded all her possessions in the Mississippi "Val- 
ley to Spain. 

41 



42 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

4. Retransf erred to France. (1800) — This ar- 
rangement proved to be temporary only, and in 
the year 1800 Spain restored the province to its 
original owner, France. 

5. Ceded to the United States. (1803)— France, 
being involved in the desperate struggles which 
accompanied the rise of Napoleon, found it ex- 
pedient to part with the possession of the terri- 
tory thus regained, and in 1803 sold it to the 
United States for a comparatively insignificant 
sum of money. 

6. Attached to Indiana. (1804) — In the follow- 
ing year the so-called Louisiana Purchase was 
divided in two parts, the northern portion (in- 
cluding what is now Iowa) being called the dis- 
trict of Louisiana, and, for the temporary pur- 
poses of government, placed under the jurisdic- 
tion of the Territory of Indiana. 

7. Made Part of Missouri Territory. (1805) — 

One year later the District of Louisiana was 
given a territorial government of its own, and in 
the year 1812 its name was changed to Territory 
of Missouri. 

8. Attached to Michigan. (1834)— In the year 
1834, all that part of the United States north of 
the State of Missouri and west of the Mississippi 
was attached to the territory of Michigan, under 
which jurisdiction it remained but two years. 

9. Made Part of Wisconsin. (1836)— In 1836, 
after the admission of Michigan into the Union 
as a State, all that region now included in the 
States of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and part 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION. 4'A 

of the Dakotas, was organized into a new Terri- 
tory under the name of Wisconsin. 

io. Made an Independent Territory. (1838) — 

Two years later, July 3, 1838, all that part of the 
then Territory of Wisconsin lying west of .the 
Mississippi Eiver was erected into an independ- 
ent Territory under the name of Iowa. 

11. Admitted to the Union. (1846) — Having 
rapidly increased in population, the Territory 
applied for admission to the Union; and, after 
considerable controversy as to the boundaries of 
the proposed State, its admission was perfected 
December 28 ? 1846. The boundaries of the State, 
as finally settled, will be found described in the 
preamble of the Constitution (2). 



CHAPTER III 

DEVELOPMENT Off THE CONSTITUTION 

i. State Constitutions not Uniform — "While all 
States conform to the general requirements of a 
republican form of government, they differ widely 
in the management and administration of public 
affairs. For example, every State has its gov- 
ernor and other executive officers, but in no two 
States do these officers exercise exactly the same 
powers or perform exactly the same duties; all 
States have legislatures, but each State, by its 
constitution, has placed its own peculiar limita- 
tions and restrictions upon the legislative power; 
and, while all have judicial systems, in no two 



44 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

States are the courts arranged upon the same 
plan or given precisely the same jurisdiction. 

2. Varieties of Local Government — So, also, 
there is great lack of uniformity in the method by 
which the various States provide for local, or 
neighborhood government. In the New England 
States, local government is exercised almost ex- 
clusively by the voters of the several towns or 
townships assembled in annual mass- or town- 
meetings; while in the Southern States township 
government is unknown. Again, in some States 
county government is vested in a board of super- 
visors having many members, organized and act- 
ing with much of the formality of higher legisla- 
tive bodies, while in others it is entrusted to a 
board of three commissioners, and in still others 
to a single county judge. These are but a few 
of the many features of variance between the 
state governments, but they are sufficient to illus- 
trate the point made in the following paragraphs. 

3. Early Settlement — No permanent white set- 
tlement having been effected in Iowa until about 
the year 1833, the nations and the territorial gov- 
ernments exercising nominal sway over it prior 
to that time have left none of their peculiarities 
impressed upon its constitution or laws. After 
1833, settlement was rapidly augmented by immi- 
gration from nearly every State in the Union; 
but among these pioneers, the natives of New 
England, the Middle States, and Kentucky largely 
predominated. 

4. Their Influence — These founders and build- 



RELATION OF THE STATE AND NATIOft 45 

ers of the commonwealth, coming, as we have 
seen, from widely separated States differing in 
constitutions, laws, and customs, were naturally 
inclined to model the new State and its institu- 
tions upon those under which they had been 
reared, with the result that the Iowa system is 
in many respects a conglomerate of features and \ 
principles borrowed from many sources, with 
such modifications and additions as the peculiari- 
ties of the situation seemed to render expedient. 
5. Value of the Work Accomplished — This fact 
does not detract anything from the credit due to 
those who performed this important work. A 
constitution, law, or system made by judicious 
selection from others which have been put to the 
test of actual experiment may easily be an im- 
provement upon all its models; and now, after 
fifty years of statehood, Iowa stands second to 
none in the efficiency and success of her govern- 
ment, or in the contentment and prosperity of her 
people. 

CHAPTER IV 

RELATION OF THE STATE AND NATION 

i. The General Government — It is assumed that 
the student entering upon the study of these chap- 
ters has already made himself familiar with the 
principles of the government of the United States. 
If so, he has learned that the Federal Constitu- 
tion is a written charter setting forth the author- 
ity conferred upon the general government by 



46 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

the people. The nation has no rightful power 
and can exercise no rightful authority of any 
kind, for which there is not express or implied 
warrant in the national Constitution. 

2. The State Government — The office of a State 
constitution is different. It does not undertake so 
much to provide what the State government may 
do, as to enumerate the things which it may not 
do, and the rights of the people which it may 
not limit or destroy. 

3. Difference in Legislative Power — In legisla- 
tive, or law-making power the difference between 
State and nation may be stated thus: The Con- 
gress of the United States can enact only such 
laws as are expressly or impliedly author- 
ized by the national Constitution, while the State 
legislature can enact any law which is not ex- 
pressly or impliedly forbidden by the national or 
State constitution. In other words, the nation 
can exercise only such powers as have been 
granted to it by the people, while the State may 
exercise all powers not withheld or forbidden by 
the people. A little reflection will make plain 
this very wide distinction between national and 
State jurisdiction. 

4. National Supremacy — In considering the 
great power exercised by the several States, the 
student should avoid the mistake of undervalu- 
ing the authority of the general government. 
Within the limit of its constitutional powers, it 
is supreme over all the States. It is the embodi- 
ment of national authority as distinguished from 



CONSTITUTION AIDED BY STATUTES 47 

the local self-government of the several States. 
Through it alone we deal with foreign powers; 
by it we are known to the world as one great 
nation, and, in so far as the national integrity, 
safety, and credit are concerned, its claim to the 
allegiance and obedience of every citizen cannot 
be rightfully questioned. 

5. State Supremacy— The national government 
does not, however, undertake to protect the lives, 
persons, or property of the citizens of the several 
States, except against foreign invasion and do- 
mestic insurrection. This duty and all others of 
a local character, the regulation of all commerce 
within the State, the preservation of public peace 
and order, and numberless other subjects of leg- 
islation which most nearly touch the people in 
their every-day lives, are left to the States ex- 
clusively. 

CHAPTER V 

CONSTITUTION AIDED BY STATUTES 

1. Constitution an Outline — It will be noticed 
by the careful reader that in most respects the 
Constitution is a mere outline or statement of 
general rules and principles, and makes little if 
any attempt to describe the details of govern- 
ment, or give minute directions as to the adminis- 
tration of public affairs. These things have been 
wisely left to the legislature to regulate by appro- 
priate laws, as changing circumstances may, from 
time to time, render expedient. 



48 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

2. Statutes Enacted — The legislature has, there- 
fore, enacted many laws to make effectual the 
various provisions of the Constitution. In the 
succeeding chapters of this volume will be set 
forth in brief form, under appropriate heads, not 
only the constitutional outline above mentioned, 
but legislative enactments as well, so far as the 
same may be necessary to an intelligent under- 
standing of our State and local government. 

3. Explanatory — The name applied by the Con- 
stitution to the legislative or law-making branch 
of the State government is "The General Assem- 
bly of Iowa," but in this volume we shall use the 
words "general assembly" and "legislature" in- 
terchangeably, as expressing the same idea. By 
the word "statute" is meant a law enacted by 
the legislature, and liable to amendment or re- 
peal by the same power. It is understood, of 
course, that a constitutional provision cannot be 
amended or modified by act of the legislature. 



PERSONAL RIGHTS 49 

CHAPTER VI 

PERSONAL EIGHTS 

i. Article I of the Constitution — The first article 
of the Constitution, commonly known as the Bill 
of Eights, is a declaration of certain important 
rights and immunities pertaining to the people 
individually and collectively. These rights are 
thus specially mentioned in the fundamental law 
of the State, to secure them against unfriendly 
and oppressive legislation, and to protect the peo- 
ple against usurpation and tyranny by any 
branch of the government. 

2. Natural Rights— Section 1 of this article (3) 
re-affirms the rights so forcibly asserted in the 
Declaration of Independence, — the natural free- 
dom and equality of all men; the enjoyment and 
defense of liberty; the acquirement, possession, 
and protection of property; and the unrestricted 
pursuit of safety and happiness. 

3. Summary of all Civil Rights — It may well be 
said that this section of the Constitution sum- 
marizes all the most sacred rights of the citizen, 
and that the declarations contained in the remain- 
der of Article I are simply more specific or par- 
ticular statements of the principles therein 
embodied. The right to life, liberty, property, 
and the pursuit of happiness is so plain to the just 
mind that no argument can make it clearer; yet 
history shows us that in all ages of the world 



50 IOWA, /TO CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

men have been compelled to struggle for its 
recognition, and to endure untold hardships in 
its defense. 

4. Nature of Government — The next section (4) 
defines the true nature and source of all govern- 
ment, declaring that all political power is inherent 
in the people, that government is instituted for 
their protection, security, and benefit, and that 
they have the right to alter or reform it when- 
ever, in their judgment, the public good requires 
such action. 

5. Political Power — The term "political pow- 
er," as used in the preceding paragraph, means 
all governmental power, — legislative, executive, 
and judicial. This power cannot be rightfully 
taken from the* people, nor can they, by a volun- 
tary surrender of it, deprive themselves of the 
right to alter or reform the government whenever 
they believe just cause exists for such change. 
They may by voluntary consent delegate the ad- 
ministration of these powers to a government; 
but whenever the delegated power is abused, or 
the general good requires a change in such gov- 
ernment, the people may resume it, or may in- 
augurate and enforce any change which they think 
for their own best interests. 

6. Monarchy and Republic Contrasted — The rec- 
ognition of this principle constitutes the essential 
distinction between a popular and a monarchical 
form of government. In the latter, the king is the 
source of all power; he is the sovereign; every 



PERSONAL RIGHTS 51 

officer, civil, military, and naval, from the highest 
to the lowest, looks to that sovereign as the ulti- 
mate and final authority which commands his alle- 
giance and obedience. In a republic, every branch 
of the government, and every officer, is a servant 
of the people. In nation and State alike, we test 
all laws and all governmental powers by the con- 
stitution ; but the constitution is itself the creature 
of the people's will. 

7. Rule of the Majority — When we say that the 
powers of the government depend upon the con- 
sent of the governed, it must be remembered that 
the consent of the people, as a State or nation, is 
meant. That consent must be determined by the 
voice of the majority. Absolute unanimity can 
never be expected. 

8. Religious Liberty — Eeligious liberty is guar- 
anteed to every citizen of the State (5 and 6). 
The legislature cannot rightfully enact any law 
for the establishment of religion. No taxes can 
be levied or collected for church or religious pur- 
poses. Neither can a person's religious views be 
made a test of his right to hold office, or his right 
to exercise or enjoy any of the rights of citizen- 
ship. 

9. Propriety of these Guarantees— It may seem 
strange to the young student of the present day 
that it should be thought necessary to incorporate 
these guarantees in the Constitution; but it is 
not long since that in England and in some parts 
of our own country a man holding certain relig- 
ious views was prohibited from holding office, was 



52 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

not permitted to testify as a witness in court, and 
in many other respects was treated as an outlaw. 

10. Penalty for Dueling — In the earlier years of 
the present century the practice of dueling was 
quite general. Some of the most prominent men 
in American history, including Alexander Hamil- 
ton, Aaron Burr, Andrew Jackson, Henry_ Clay, 
and Thomas H. Benton, yielded to the custom of 
their times, and participated in these murderous 
combats. With the advance of Christian civili- 
zation, public sentiment has come to discounte- 
nance the barbarous practice, and it is now rarely 
resorted to. To prevent such crimes in this State, 
the Bill of Bights (7) provides that any citizen 
engaging in a duel, either as principal or acces- 
sory, forfeits his right to hold office. 

11. Penalty not Exclusive — Disqualification for 
office is not the only penalty to which the duelist 
subjects himself. The killing of a person in such 
contest is murder in the first degree, and punish- 
able accordingly. 

12. Laws to be Uniform. (8) — All laws of a 
general nature must have uniform operation, and 
the legislature must not grant to any citizen or 
class of citizens privileges or immunities which 
are not open to the enjoyment of all other citizens 
on the same terms. This is intended to prevent 
unfair discrimination by the State between indi- 
viduals or classes, to prevent the establishment 
of monopolies, and to preserve, as far as possible, 
equality of right and equality of opportunity to 
all the people, 



PERSONAL RIGHTS 53 

13. Freedom of Speech and Press — Within proper 
limits, every person may freely speak, write, and 
publish his views on any subject (9). This does 
not give any one license to publish immoral or 
obscene literature, nor to falsely accuse another 
of crime, or hold him up to public hatred and con- 
tempt. These things are an abuse of the freedom 
which the Constitution seeks to preserve. 

14. Greater Restriction in Other Countries — 

Under other forms of government, freedom of 
speech, and more especially freedom of the press, 
is restricted within narrow limits. In many coun- 
tries all books and newspapers are subject to in- 
spection by a public censor, without whose permis- 
sion no publication can be lawfully made. 

15. Security of Person and Home — No right is 
more highly valued by the freeman than the right 
to occupy his own home, secure from unnecessary, 
impertinent, or oppressive interference by others. 
It is an old English saying that "a man's house is 
his castle," and the principle that not even the 
king or the State or its officers may arbitrarily 
disturb his domestic privacy is firmly established 
in every English-speaking country in the world. 
It is, therefore, provided (io) that before the 
house of a citizen can be searched, or his person, 
papers, or property seized, a warrant must be 
issued for that purpose, upon sworn complaint, 
showing probable cause for such action. 

16. Rights of Persons Charged with Crime — The 
power to suppress and punish crime is a necessary 
attribute of all government. It is equally neces- 



54 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

sary that the exercise of this power he guarded 
against abuse, and that no person be subjected to 
the ignominy of criminal punishment, except upon 
fair and impartial trial. 

I 7- J ur Y Trial — Every person charged with 
crime is entitled to trial by a jury (ix and 12). 
However imperfect the jury system may be, the 
experience of centuries has firmly established it 
in the affections and confidence of the people, and 
it is extremely doubtful if any other plan could be 
devised which would work more satisfactorily or 
to better public advantage. 

18. Word Defined— The word "jury," when 
not otherwise qualified, means a body of twelve 
men duly selected for the trial of a question of 
fact, in a court of competent jurisdiction. A jury 
of six persons is authorized for the trial of petty 
misdemeanors before justices of the peace; but 
every person so convicted may appeal to the dis- 
trict court, and thus obtain a new trial before a 
full jury of twelve. 

19. Right cannot be Waived — The right to trial 
by jury is so imperative that even where an ac- 
cused person has voluntarily waived it, and con- 
sented to be tried before the court, without a jury, 
he is not bound by it, and if so convicted he may 
have the judgment set aside, and be granted a 
new trial in the usual form. 

20. Trial to be Speedy and Public. (12)— One 
who is placed under arrest on charge of crime 
must not be detained an unreasonable time with- 
out a hearing, but must be given a speedy and 



PERSONAL RIGHTS 55 

public trial. He must also be informed of the 
precise nature of the charge made against him, 
must be allowed to see and hear the witnesses 
who testify against him, must be given means to 
compel the attendance of witnesses in his own be- 
half, and be permitted to have the assistance of 
counsel. 

21. Petty Misdemeanors. (13) — Offenses against 
the law for which the highest punishment does not 
exceed a fine of one hundred dollars, or thirty 
days' imprisonment in the county jail, are com- 
monly called " petty misdemeanors," and are 
tried before justices of the peace. 

22. How Tried — Such proceedings are begun by 
presenting to the justice of the peace a sworn 
complaint called an "information," stating the 
facts constituting the alleged offense. Upon this 
information a warrant is issued for the arrest of 
the accused, who is thus brought before the magis- 
trate, and the truth of the charge is tried in the 
usual way. Cases of this class are never tried in 
the district court except on appeal. 

23. Indictable Offenses — -No person can be 
brought to trial for any offense of a higher degree 
than those above named, except upon indictment 
by a grand jury. A grand jury is a body of men 
duly summoned to attend the district court in each 
county to inquire into indictable offenses against 
the laws of the State, and to determine whether 
any person charged with such offense shall be put 
on trial. An indictment is simply a formal writ- 
ten accusation made to the court by a grand jury, 



56 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

charging some particular person or persons with 
the commission of a crime, and stating the facts 
constituting it. The district court alone has jur- 
isdiction to try this class of cases. 

24. Cannot be Twice Tried. (14) — If a person 
charged with crime is once tried and acquitted, 
he cannot be again put on trial for the same 
offense. This rule sometimes works an apparent 
injustice to the State, for it may easily happen 
that, after the accused has been acquitted, new 
evidence is discovered which would conclusively 
establish his guilt. It is thought better, however, 
that a guilty person occasionally thus escape just 
punishment than that the innocent be exposed to 
oppression and persecution by being again and 
again forced to stand trial upon the same charge. 

25. Right to Bail. (14) — Except when charged 
with a capital offense, where the proof is evident 
or the presumption is great, all persons have the 
right to bail until they have been duly tried and 
convicted. A capital offense is one which is pun- 
ishable by death. The right to bail is the right to 
go at large on giving proper security for appear- 
ance before the court whenever called upon for 
trial. 

26. Habeas Corpus is sometimes called "the 
great writ of personal liberty. ' ' It is the grandest 
safeguard against despotism which jurisprudence 
affords. The words are Latin and mean "You 
may have the body." If a prisoner thinks his ar- 
rest is unlawful, he, or any one in his interest, may 
apply to a judge of a higher court for a writ of 



PERSONAL RIGHTS 57 

habeas corpus. The judge examines the case; if 
he decides the prisoner is lawfully held, he re- 
mands him to prison; if not, he orders his release. 
This writ is not to be suspended or denied except 
when, by reason of rebellion or invasion, the pub- 
lic safety may require it. 

27. Military Subordinate to Civil Power. (16, 17) 

— Sections 14 and 15 of the Bill insure the people 
of the State against military oppression. Mili- 
tary authority is of necessity arbitrary, and mili- 
tary officers, being accustomed to command and 
having the power to enforce obedience to their 
requisitions, are sometimes betrayed into disre- 
gard of private right and into contempt of the 
civil law. It is, therefore, the policy of all repub- 
lican governments to provide strong safeguards 
against abuses of this nature. 

28. Treason — -Treason is the highest crime 
known to the law (18). It consists only in levying 
war against the State, adhering to its enemies, or 
giving them aid and comfort. 

Under monarchical governments, almost every 
act or word which could be construed as disre- 
spectful to the sovereign or as a denial of his 
right to rule has been held to be treasonable and 
punished with death. Such severity is inconsist- 
ent with our free institutions. 

29. How Established. (18) — No person can be 
convicted of treason except on the evidence of at 
least two witnesses to the same overt act, or con- 
fession in open court. 

By " overt act" is meant some actual effort to 



58 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

wage war against the State or to assist its enemies 
in time of war — as distinguished from disloyal 
words or sentiments. 

30. Excessive Bail, etc. — The Constitution also 
provides against oppression by the courts under 
forms of law, and to that end forbids (19) the 
requirement of excessive bail, the imposing of ex- 
cessive fines, and the infliction of cruel and un- 
usual punishments. 

31. Taking Private Property for Public Use. 
(20) — Private property is not to be taken for pub- 
lic use without compensation. It often becomes 
necessary to obtain or appropriate the property 
of the private citizen for the public benefit. For 
instance, ground may be needed for the site of a 
schoolhouse, or for a public highway, or other 
similar public purpose; and in such cases the 
rights of the individual owner must yield to the 
general good, — but not until proper compensation 
has been made. 

32. No imprisonment for Debt. (21) — There 
can be no imprisonment for debt in any civil 
action, on mesne or final process, unless in case of 
fraud ; nor can any person be imprisoned for non- 
payment of a militia fine. 

33. Words Defined — The word "action," as 
used in this section of the Constitution, means a 
proceeding or suit at law for the collection of a 
debt. "Mesne process," as here used, is a writ 
or warrant issued in such proceeding or suit for 
the arrest and detention of the debtor until the 
case can be tried. "Final process" is a writ or 



PERSONAL RIGHTS 59 

warrant issued after the case is tried, to imprison 
the debtor until he pays or performs the judg- 
ment rendered against him. 

34. Right of Assembly and Petition. (22) — The 
people may at all times meet and counsel together 
for the common good, and to petition the proper 
authorities for the redress of their real or sup- 
posed grievances. 

35. Bills of Attainder. (23) — Following the ex- 
ample set in the Constitution of the United States, 
Iowa, also, forbids all bills of attainder and ex 
post facto laws. A Bill of Attainder is an Act of a 
legislature inflicting the punishment of death 
upon a person for treason or other crime, with- 
out trial by a regular court; it takes away his 
right to inherit property or to transmit property 
to his heirs. Ex post facto Law is a law that 
makes punishable as a crime an act which was not 
criminal when done, or that increases the penalty 
for a crime after it has been committed. 

36. Rights of Foreigners. (24) — Persons of for- 
eign birth residing within the State enjoy the 
same property rights as native-born citizens. 
This liberal policy has attracted a large immigra- 
tion from European countries and contributed 
very much to the rapid development of the State. 
A foreign-born citizen who becomes naturalized 
under our laws is not considered an alien in any 
sense, and enjoys the same rights of citizenship 
as if native-born. 

37. Slavery Forbidden. (25) — Slavery never 
had legal existence in Iowa; but, at the time the 



60 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

State was organized, the institution was -strongly 
entrenched in the South. The conflict of opinion 
between the North and South over the extension 
of slavery was very bitter, and the application of 
a new State for admission to the Union was al- 
ways the signal for heated discussion and contro- 
versy. 

38. Result of Compromise.— In the year 1846, 
both Iowa and Florida were seeking admission to 
the Union. In the former antislavery sentiment 
prevailed, while the interests and sympathies of 
the latter were with the slave States. As either 
of these applications, standing alone, would excite 
great opposition from those holding contrary 
views upon the slavery question, a compromise 
was effected by which both States were admitted 
at the same time and by the same bill or act of 
Congress — one as a free and the other as a slave 
State. 

39. A Monument of Honor — To the present gen- 
eration, it seems an anomaly that a "free coun- 
try" should deem it necessary to put up a con- 
stitutional barrier against slavery; but, to those 
familiar with the prejudices and passions then 
surrounding this subject in the public mind, the 
constitutional prohibition of human bondage 
stands as a monument to the wisdom, justice, and 
honor of the men who laid the foundation „of our 
State. 

40. Leases of Lands. (26) — Leases of agricul- 
tural lands for terms of more than twenty years 
are invalid. 



RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE 61 

41. Reasons for such Restriction — Long leases 
and other devices by which the ownership of lands 
is perpetuated indefinitely in the same family or 
line of descent tends to create a landed aristocracy 
and thus to weaken and endanger republican insti- 
tutions. They also serve to prevent the division 
and sale of lands and thereby lessen the number 
of citizens who ow r n and control their own homes. 



CHAPTER VII 

EIGHT OF SUFFRAGE 

i. Its Importance— The right to vote is the most 
sacred and valuable privilege which can be con- 
ferred upon the citizen. It is therefore highly 
proper that the Constitution should define such 
privilege in clear terms and guard it so far as 
possible from abuse and destruction. 

2. Qualification for Suffrage, (30) — The right 
to vote depends upon the following qualifications : 

1st, Sex; 2d, Citizenship; 3d, Age; 4th, Eesi- 
dence. 

These qualifications are separately considered 
in the following sections. 

3. Sex — During the earlier history of the re- 
public the right of suffrage was exercised by male 
citizens alone. Of late years the extension of 
suffrage to women has been earnestly advocated 
and the proposition has been received in many 
States with increasing favor. Several States 



62 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

make no distinction between the sexes in this re- 
spect, but extend the voting privilege to men and 
women on equal terms. 

4. Partial or Limited Suffrage — In some States 
where equal suffrage does not yet prevail, women 
have been granted the right to vote for school 
officers and upon certain other matters oi a local 
character. In Iowa women are permitted to take 
part in school elections and in elections upon 
questions of issuing bonds, borrowing money, or 
increasing taxation. 

5. Citizenship — To be a legal voter a person 
must be a citizen of the United States. All 
native-born and naturalized subjects of the gen- 
eral government are citizens. Congress prescribes 
that a foreign-born person may be naturalized 
after living in this country five years. The first 
step is to declare an oath before a court that he 
intends to become a citizen ; after this declaration, 
he must wait two years ; then, if the court is satis- 
fied that he has lived five years in the United 
States and one year in the state in which the 
court is held, it may admit him as a citizen after 
he has sworn to support the Constitution of the 
United States. 

6. Age — A citizen of immature age, and unde- 
veloped mind and judgment is manifestly unpre- 
pared for the responsibility of suffrage. By the 
common law of England, generally followed in the 
United States, twenty-one years is fixed as the 
age at which the child is considered fitted for 
emancipation from parental control, and in har- 



RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE 63 

mony with this ancient rule the Constitution pre- 
scribes the same age as the period for admission 
to the most important privilege of citizenship. 

7. Residence — The voter must have resided in 
the State six months and in the county where he 
offers his vote sixty days. Without some restric- 
tion of this kind great frauds could be easily per- 
petrated. Idle and corrupt men could go from 
place to place voting repeatedly on the same day, 
or, by temporarily concentrating in one or more 
precincts, manufacture fraudulent majorities for 
any candidate. 

8. Residence Defined — The residence of a voter 
is his permanent home or place of abode. One 
who remains in a place for the temporary pur- 
poses of business, pleasure, or education, does not 
thereby become a resident or legal voter, even 
though such temporary sojourn be prolonged into 
months or years. 

9. Privilege of Electors. (31) — On election days 
electors are privileged from arrest,, except for 
treason, felony, or breach of the peace, during 
their attendance at the polls, and while going to 
and returning therefrom (3 2 ). They are also 
exempt from military duty on such days, except 
in time of war. or public danger. The word 
"elector" is synonymous with "voter" or 
' ' legal voter. ' ' 

10. Reasons for Privilege — These provisions are 
made to prevent the corrupt and oppressive mis- 
use of legal process and military power. But 
for the privilege thus secured, voters might be 



(54 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AXD LAWS 

arrested on trivial charges or called away on un- 
necessary military service for the mere purpose of 
keeping them from the polls. 

ii. Not Privileged — As above noted, the privi- 
lege from arrest does not extend to persons 
charged with treason or felony, or to those who 
may be engaged in a breach of the peace. 
Treason and felonies are crimes of a grave and 
serious character, and it is to the interest of 
society that persons charged therewith be appre- 
hended whenever and wherever found. A felony, 
under the laws of this State, is any public offense 
punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary. 

12. Persons in Military Service. (33) — Members 

of the army and navy of the United States are not 
to be considered residents by reason of service at 
any military or naval station in the State. 

13. Not Entitled to Vote. (34) — Idiots, insane 
persons, and persons convicted of any infamous 
crime are not legal voters. The term "infamous 
crime" as here used is synonymous with "fel- 
ony" as defined in the eleventh paragraph of this 
chapter. This disability or penalty for crime can 
be removed by the order or pardon of the Gov- 
ernor of the State. 

14. Voting by Ballot. (35) — The manner of vot- 
ing is by ballot. Each State has its peculiar 
manner of balloting ; but the essential features by 
which the voter is guarded from intimidation and 
improper influence, and the secrecy of the ballot 
preserved, are everywhere given special attention. 

15. Australian Ballot — In Iowa, as in many of 



RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE 65 

the states, the so-called Australian method of bah 
loting has been adopted. By this method all the 
different party tickets are printed in parallel col- 
umns upon one large sheet, and opposite the name 
of each individual candidate is placed a square, 
□ . These ballots are furnished by public author- 
ity and placed in the hands of the judges of elec- 
tion at each polling-place. 

1 6. Manner of Balloting — The person desiring to 
vote applies to the officers in charge of the polls 
and receives one of the sheets containing all the 
tickets as above described, and retires alone to a 
small stall or booth to prepare his ballot. If by 
reason of bodily infirmity or inability to read he 
cannot properly mark the ballot, he may have the 
assistance of two of the officers of the election. 

17. Marking the Ballot — In the seclusion of the 
booth the voter proceeds to mark his ballot in 
favor of the ticket or candidate of his choice. If 
he wishes to vote what is ordinarily called a 
"straight" party ticket he place a cross X in 
the squares before the names of all the candidates 
appearing in one column under the party name 
of the party of his choice. 

18. Voting a " Mixed " or " Split " Ticket— If the 
voter desires to vote a "mixed" or "split" 
ticket — that is, for the candidates of one party 
for certain offices and for the candidates of an- 
other party for other offices he places a cross, 
X, in the square opposite the name of each indi- 
vidual candidate for whom he wishes his vote to 
be counted. 



66 IOWA, ITS coysTiTiTioy AXD laws 

19. Depositing the Ballot — Before leaving the 
booth the voter is required to fold his ballot in 
such manner as to wholly conceal the vote he has 
prepared. This being done, he delivers it to the 
proper officer, who deposits it in the ballot-box. 

20. Voting Machines— The use of voting ma- 
chines is now permitted in this State. They sim- 
plify the method of voting and facilitate the 
counting of the votes at the close of an election. 

21. General Election — The general election for 
State, district, county, and township officers is 
held each even numbered }^ear on the Tuesday 
next after the first Monday in November. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 67 



CHAPTER VIII 

DISTRIBUTION OF POWEES 

i. Three Departments. (36) — The powers of 
the government are divided into three separate 
departments: the Legislative, the Executive, and 
the Judicial. In this respect, the plan or struc- 
ture of the State government is identical with that 
of the National government. 

2. Departments kept Separate — These depart- 
ments are to be kept separate and independent of 
each other, and no officer of one department can 
lawfully exercise any duty or power belonging to 
either of the others. 



CHAPTER IX 

I^EGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

i. General Assembly. (37) — The legislative 
authority of the State is vested in a Senate and 
House of Representatives. Every law of the 
State begins with the sentence "Be it enacted 
by the General Assembly of the State of 
Iowa. ' ' 

2. Legislative Sessions. (38) — The regular ses- 
sions of the General Assembly occur once in two 
years, beginning on the second Monday in Jan- 
uary next after the election of its members. 



68 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

Special sessions may be called at any time by 
proclamation of the Governor of the State. 

3. Election of Representatives. (39) — Members 
of the House of Representatives are chosen every 
second year by vote of the qualified electors of 
their respective districts, and their term of office 
begins on the first day of January following their 
election. Representatives are chosen at the regu- 
lar November election in each even numbered 
year., 

4. Qualification of Representatives. (40) — A 

member of the House of Representatives must be 
a male citizen of the United States, twenty-one 
years of age, and at the time of his election must 
have been a resident of the State one year, and 
of the county -or district he is chosen to represent 
at least sixty days. 

5. Senators. (41) — Senators are chosen for 
the term of four years. They must be at least 
twenty-five years of age, and in other respects 
have the qualifications required for membership 
of the House of Representatives. 

6. Senators Classified. (42) — -The number of 
Senators must not be less than one-third nor more 
than one-half the number of Representatives, and 
so classified that one-half their number shall be 
elected every two years. 

7. Number of Members — The number of mem- 
bers of the General Assembly is the maximum 
allowed by the Constitution (72), fifty Senators, 
and one hundred and eight Representatives* 

8. Officers — The Lieutenant-governor of the 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT (59 

State is the President of the Senate (43). All 
other officers are chosen by their respective 
houses. The presiding officer of the House of 
Eepresentatives is elected from its own member- 
ship, and is known as the Speaker. Each house 
chooses a chief clerk and assistants, a sergeant- 
at-arms, doorkeepers, and such other officers as 
may be found necessary for the proper despatch 
of business. 

9. Contests. (43) — Whenever any question is 
raised as to the qualification or election of a mem- 
ber, the house in which he claims a seat decides 
it, and from such decision there is no appeal, 

10. Quorum. (44) — A majority of each house 
constitutes a quorum to transact business, but a 
smaller number may adjourn from day to day and 
compel the attendance of absent members. 

11. Rules. (45, 46) — Each house adopts its own 
rules of order and business, keeps a journal of its 
proceedings, and has power by a two-thirds vote 
to expel a member, but not a second time for the 
same offenses. Upon the demand of any two 
members of either house the vote upon any ques- 
tion shall be taken by yeas and nays, and a record 
of the same entered on the journals. 

12. Privilege. (47) — Except for treason, felony, 
or breach of the peace, Senators and Eepresenta- 
tives are exempt from arrest and imprisonment 
during the session of the General Assembly and 
while going to and returning therefrom. 

13. Vacancies. (48) — Whenever a vacancy 
occurs in either house, the Governor of the State 



70 * IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS , 

issues a writ calling a special election to. fill such 
vacancy. 

14. Public Sessions. (49) — The sessions of each 
house are open to the public except when, in the 
opinion of such house, the public interests require 
secrecy. Secret sessions of either house are very 
rare. The general welfare is best served when 
the people are kept fully informed of the manner 
in which public officers are performing the trust 
reposed in them. 

15. Bills. (51) — A proposed law presented by 
any member of either house, for the consideration 
of the legislature is called a bill. Bills may be 
first presented in either house, but are subject to 
be amended, altered, or rejected by the other. 

16. How passed. (53) — In order to pass a bill, 
it must receive the vote or assent of a majority of 
all the members elected to each house. 

17. Approval. (52) — When a bill has passed 
both houses, it is rewritten in full, embodying all 
amendments and changes, if any, which it has re- 
ceived during its consideration and passage. 
This copy, known as the ' i enrolled bill, ' ' is signed 
by the President of the Senate and Speaker of 
the House, and sent to the Governor for his ap- 
proval. If the Governor has no objection to the 
bill he indorses his approval upon it, and the 
course of legislation as to such act is complete. 

18. Where kept- — After being signed and. ap- 
proved, the enrolled bill is filed with the Secretary 
of State and safely preserved. If any dispute 
afterward arises as to the exact language or read- 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 71 

ing of the law, an examination of the enrolled bill 
is the final test. Any mistake made in the enroll- 
ment and not corrected before it is signed and 
approved, can be corrected only by the enactment 
of another law repealing or amending the defec- 
tive act. 

19. Veto. (52) — If the Governor does not ap- 
prove a bill, it is his duty to return the same to 
the house in which it was first introduced, with a 
statement of his objections. Upon being so re- 
turned the bill is reconsidered, and, if it is again 
passed by a vote of two-thirds of all the members 
of each house, it becomes a law notwithstanding 
the Governor's veto. 

20. When Bill is to be Returned. (52) — When 
a bill has been sent to the Governor and he does 
not return it within three days with his approval 
or veto, it becomes a law in the same manner as if 
he had approved it in the usual form. This rule 
does not apply where the legislature by adjourn- 
ment prevents the return of the bill within the 
required time. Very many of the bills which be- 
come laws are not passed until near the close of 
the session, and to give the Governor ample oppor- 
tunity to examine them he is allowed thirty days 
in which to approve or disapprove all bills sent 
to him during the last three days before final ad- 
journment. 

21. Publication of Receipts, etc. (54) — As soon 
as practicable after the close of a session of the 
General Assembly the laws enacted by it are pub- 
lished in book form. With these laws an accurate 



72 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

statement of the receipts and disbursements of 
public moneys is given. 

22. Impeachments. (55) — The only way in 
which the Governor, or any Judge of the Supreme 
or District Court, or other State officer can be 
removed from office for breach of duty is by im- 
peachment. To impeach means to charge with a 
crime or misdemeanor, especially to charge an offi- 
cer with misbehavior in office; it is analogous to 
an indictment by a grand jury. An officer may be 
impeached, and, on trial, be found "not guilty" of 
the accusation. 

The House of Representatives acts as the ac- 
cuser, and appoints a committee of managers from 
its membership to prosecute the accused officer, 
while the Senate sits as a court to hear and decide 
the case. No person can be convicted on such 
trial without the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
Senators present. 

23. Punishment. (56) — The judgment to be en- 
tered upon a conviction in such case cannot extend 
beyond a removal of the convicted person from 
office, and his disqualification to hold any office 
of honor, trust, or profit under the State. 

24. Purpose— The purpose of an impeachment 
is not the punishment of crime, but simply the re- 
moval of an unfit person from office; and any 
officer committing a public offense may bfe in- 
dicted, tried, and punished according to the usual 
forms of law whether he be impeached or not. 

25. Members Ineligible. (57) — No Representa- 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 73 

tive or Senator can be appointed to any civil office 
of profit under the State, which has been created 
or the emoluments of which have been increased 
during the session of the legislature in which he 
has served as a member. He who undertakes to 
legislate for the State should be uninfluenced by 
considerations of profit or advantage to himself; 
and this provision is made to remove any tempta- 
tion, which otherwise might exist on the part of 
members, to create an office or increase the salarv 
of an office for their own benefit. This restriction 
does not apply to elective officers. 

26. Officers Ineligible to Membership. (58) — 
No person holding any lucrative office under the 
United States or this State or any other power 
is eligible to a seat in the General Assembly. A 
lucrative office is one to which some substantial 
salary or compensation is attached. 

27. Defaulters Disqualified. (59) — No person 
who has been a collector or holder of public 
moneys can have a seat in either house of the 
General Assembly until he shall have accounted 
for and paid into the treasury all sums for which 
he is liable. It is obviously just that one who 
stands an admitted or proved defaulter should not 
be trusted to legislate for the State while refusing 
to make restitution. 

28. How Money Drawn. (60) — No money can 
be lawfully drawn from the State treasury but 
in pursuance of appropriations previously made 
or authorized by law. Any other rule would place 



74 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

too much power in the discretion of individual 
officers, and open the door to extravagance and 
corruption in public expenditures. 

29. Payment of Members. (61)— The members 
of the first General Assembly received payment 
at the rate of three dollars per day and an addi- 
tional allowance for traveling expenses. At pres- 
ent the compensation is $1000 and mileage for 
each regular session, with a proportionate amount 
for each special session based upon the number- 
of days in the last preceding regular session. 

30. Laws take Effect. (62)— Laws enacted at 
a regular session of the General Assembly take 
effect on the Fourth day of July next after their 
passage. Laws enacted at a special session take 
effect ninety 'days after the final adjournment of 
the General Assembly by which they are passed. 
If the General Assembly deems any law of im- 
mediate importance, it may provide that the same 
shall take effect at once upon publication of the 
same in two or more newspapers in the State. 

31. No Divorce Granted. (63) — No divorce can 
be legally granted nor can any lottery be legally 
authorized by the General Assembly. In some 
States it was formerly the rule to grant divorce 
by special act of the legislature, but experience 
has shown that such matters can be best adjudi- 
cated in the courts. 

32. Lotteries Forbidden. (64) — Though former- 
ly recognized by law, lotteries and dealings in 
lottery tickets are now generally regarded as 
gambling transactions, having a demoralizing 



LEGISLATIVE DEPART.)! EXT 75 

effect upon all who engage therein. They are 
therefore wholly forbidden in this State. 

33. Subject Expressed in Title. (65) — Each act 
or Jaw passed by the General Assembly must em- 
brace but one subject, which shall be indicated 
or expressed in the title. If any act or bill so 
passed contains any provision which does not 
relate to the subject named in the title, then such 
provision is void. So, too, if the title names or 
discloses two distinct subjects, then the act is en- 
tirely void. - 

34. Special Laws Forbidden. (66) — The General 
Assembly is forbidden to pass local or special 
laws for any of the following purposes: 

1. For the assessment and collection of taxes; 

2. For laying out and working highways; 

3. For changing the names of persons; 

4. For incorporating cities and towns ; 

5. For vacating roads, town plots, and public 
squares ; 

6. For locating and changing county-seats. 

35. Laws to be General. (67) — As far as pos- 
sible all laws must be general, and apply alike to 
all parts of the State. 

36. Extra Compensation. (68) — No extra com- 
pensation can be made to any officer, public agent, 
or contractor, nor can there be any lawful ap- 
propriation of public moneys for merely local or 
private uses, without the approval of two thirds 
of all the members elected to each branch of the 
General Assembly. 

37. Oath of Office. (69) — Each member of the 



76 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

General Assembly must take and subscribe an 
oath or affirmation to support the Constitution 
of the United States. and of the State of Iowa, 
and to faithfully perform the duties of his office 
to the best of his ability. The custom of requir- 
ing all newly elected officers to thus solemnly 
renew their allegiance to their country, and de- 
vote their best endeavors to the discharge of their 
official duties, is one of ancient origin, and is a 
fitting recognition of the high and important 
character of the public service. 

38. Census. (70) — It is the duty of the Gen- 
eral Assembly to cause an enumeration or census 
of the population to be made every ten years. 
This census is arranged to alternate at equal in- 
tervals with the United States census, which is 
also taken every ten years, thus securing an 
enumeration of the people every five years. The 
last State census was taken in the year 1905. 

39. Senatorial Districts. (7i)_At the first ses- 
sion after a State or National census has been 
taken the General Assembly fixes the number of 
Senators and divides the State into a correspond- 
ing number of senatorial districts. 

40. Membership Limited. (72) — The member- 
ship of the Senate is limited to fifty and of the 
House of Eepresentatives to one hundred and 
eight. These members are apportioned , among 
the counties or districts of the State according 
to population, but each county shall have at least 
one representative. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 77 

41. Ratio — The ratio of representation in the 
house is determined by dividing the whole num- 
ber of inhabitants of the State by the whole num- 
ber of counties. 

42. Representative Districts. (72) — Each county 
shall constitute one representative district and 
be entitled to one representative, but each county 
having a population in excess of the ratio number 
of three-fifths of such ratio number shall be en- 
titled to one additional representative, but said 
addition shall extend only to the nine counties 
having the greatest population. 

43. When Apportioned. (73) — At each regular 
session the General Assembly fixes the ratio of 
representation in the House of Representatives, 
and apportions the additional representatives. 

44. Basis of Representation — It will be observed 
that representation in both legislative branches is 
apportioned to the number of inhabitants .by coun- 
ties rather than by an absolutely equal apportion- 
ment among the inhabitants of the State as a 
whole. The county is thus in some respects made 
the unit of representation (74). 

45. Elections by General Assembly (75) — In ad- 
dition to the election of its own officers the gen- 
eral assembly is also charged with the duty of 
electing Senators of the United States and va- 
rious State officers. At all such elections the mem- 
bers must vote orally, and the votes so announced 
must be entered on the journal. The reasons for 
voting by secret ballot at ordinary elections by 



78 IQWA, 1T8 CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

the people do not apply to elections by the legis- 
lature. The members act in a representative ca- 
pacity, and it is the right of each member's 
constituents to know how he discharges the duty 
confided to him. 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 79 



CHAPTER X 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

i. The Governor. (76) — The supreme executive 
power of the State is vested in a chief magis- 
trate, whose official title is "The Governor of the 
State of Iowa." 

2. How and When Elected. (77) — He is elected 
by vote of the qualified electors of the State at 
the election at which members of the General As- 
sembly are chosen, being the regular election in 
November of each even-numbered year, and holds 
his office two years from the time of his installa- 
tion and until his successor is elected and qual- 
ified. 

3. Lieutenant Governor. (78) — A Lieutenant 
Governor is also elected at the same time and 
for the same term as the Governor. 

4. Returns of Election. (78) — The returns or re- 
ports of the votes cast for Governor and Lieuten- 
ant Governor, as the same have been collected 
and counted by the proper officers in each of the 
several counties of the State, are sealed up and 
sent to the State Capitol, directed to the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives. 

5. Canvass of the Vote. (78, 79) — As soon as 
the General Assembly is organized by the election 
of its own officers, the two houses meet in joint 
session in the representative chamber. The meet- 



80 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS , 

ing is presided over by the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives, who opens the sealed returns 
in the presence of all the members. The votes 
thus reported for the several candidates for the 
offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are 
footed up, and those appearing to have received 
the greatest number for the respective offices are 
declared duly elected. 

6. Tie Decided— Should it happen that a tie is 
found in the votes of any two or more of the can- 
didates for either office, the Joint Assembly pro- 
ceeds at once to make an election from the candi- 
dates thus standing equal in the popular vote. 
The possibility of a tie ever occurring in the vote 
of a great State is very remote. 

7. Contested Elections. (80) — Much more prob- 
able than a tie is a case in which disputes arise 
over the regularity or the returns of an election. 

If the election of a Governor or Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor is thus contested, it is to be decided in such 
manner a^ the General Assembly may by law 
provide. Under the statute now in force, when 
such a contest is made the Senate and the House 
of Representatives each selects by lot seven of 
its own members, and the fourteen persons thus 
designated constitute a committee or court before 
which the trial is had. The finding and judgment 
of the committee is final and conclusive. 

8. Eligibility. (81)— To be eligible to the office 
of Governor or Lieutenant Governor, a person 
must be at least thirty years old, and must have 
been a citizen of the United States and a resident 



EXECUTIVE DEI* I irr\Ii:XT 81 

of the State for the two years next preceding his 

election. 

9. Commander in Chief. (82) — The Governor is 

commander in chief of the militia, army, and navy 
of the State. The State maintains no army or 
navy in times of peace. 

10. Executive Business. (83) — He represents 
the State in the transaction of all executive busi- 
ness with the officers of government, civil and 
military. He may also call upon any of the of- 
ficers of the executive department for reports upon 
any subject relating to the duties of their respec- 
tive offices. 

11. Filling Vacancies. (85)— When any office 
becomes vacant, and the law has not provided any 
other method for filling such vacancy, the Gov- 
ernor may fill it by appointment. Such appoint- 
ment will expire at the next session of the Gen- 
eral Assembly or at the next election by the peo- 
ple. 

12. Extra Sessions. (86) — When in his judg- 
ment the circumstances require it, he may. con- 
vene the General Assembly in special session. 
When so convened, it is his duty to explain to 
both houses the reasons why he has called them 

together. 

13. Messages. (87) — The Governor sends to 
the General Assembly at each regular session a 
formal message, reporting the condition of the 
State, and making such recommendations as he 

thinks expedient. 

14. Adjourning the Legislature. (88) — Should 



82 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

the two houses be unable to agree as to the time 
for the final adjournment of any session,, the Gov- 
ernor has power to declare the General Assembly 
adjourned to such date as he may think proper, 
but not beyond the time fixed by law for the meet- 
ing of the next General Assembly. 

15. Must Hold No Other Office. (89) — While ex- 
ercising the office of Governor or Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor a person must not hold any other office 
under the authority of the United States or of this 
State. 

16. Official Term. (90) — The official term of the 
Governor and Lieutenant Governor begins on the 
second Monday of January next after their elec- 
tion. If for any reason no election is held at the 
proper time, ©r if the person elected to either of 
these offices fails to accept or qualify by taking 
the prescribed oath, there is no vacancy, because 
the incumbent of the office for the prior term holds 
over until a successor is duly elected and qualified. 

17. Holding Over — As the General Assembly 
which- canvasses the vote for Governor and Lieu- 
tenant Governor does not convene until the sec- 
ond Monday in January, and cannot proceed with 
the canvass until both houses are duly organized, 
it rarely, if ever, happens that the newly elected 
executive is inaugurated promptly on the first 
day of his official term. It has happened on one 
or two occasions that a long contest over the elec- 
tion of Speaker of the House of Representatives 
has delayed the inauguration for weeks, during 



EXECl TIYi: DEPARTMENT 83 

which time the retiring Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor have held over. 

18. Reprieves and Pardons. (91) — The Governor 
has power to grant reprieves, commutations, and 
pardons for all offenses except treason and cases 
of impeachment. In cases of treason he may 
suspend the execution of the sentence until time 
is had to report the matter to the General As- 
sembly, which may pardon, commute the sentence, 
or order it to be carried into effect. He may also 
remit fines and forfeitures. 

19. Words Defined — A reprieve is an executive 
order postponing or extending the time for carry- 
ing into execution the judgment or sentence pro- 
nounced by the court in a criminal case. A com- 
mutation is an executive order modifying or 
changing such judgment or sentence to one of less 
severity. A pardon is an executive order by 
which a person convicted of crime is forgiven 
and wholly relieved from the judgment or sen- 
tence pronounced against him. To remit a fine 
or forfeiture is to relieve the person charged 
therewith from all liability for its payment. 

20. Order of Succession. (92) — In case of the 
death, impeachment, resignation, removal from 
office, or other disability of the Governor the 
duties of the office devolve upon the Lieutenant 
Governor (94)- If the Lieutenant Governor, 
while acting as Governor, be impeached, die, 
resign, or be otherwise disabled, the president 
pro tempore of the Senate acts as Governor, and 



84 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

should he also be rendered incapable of perform- 
ing the duties of the office, they devolve upon 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

21. Office Never Vacant — Should the office of 
Governor ever become vacant, and the State gov- 
ernment thus be left without a responsible head 
or superintendent, much confusion and possible 
anarchy would follow. Hence the careful pro- 
vision above mentioned to provide for the suc- 
cession, should the duly elected incumbent be in 
any manner removed or disqualified. The in- 
stant one incumbent dies or becomes incapaci- 
tated the powers of the office devolve upon his 
successor, and there is never a time when there 
is not some one to whom the people may look 
as the chief jnagistrate. 

22. President of the Senate. (93) — The Lieuten- 
ant Governor acts as president of the Senate, but 
has no vote in its proceedings except when the 
Senate is equally divided. In the event of his 
absence or impeachment, or when exercising the 
office of Governor, the Senate chooses a president 
pro tempore from its own membership. 

23. Great Seal. (95) — The State provides, for 
the use of the executive, a seal termed The Great 
Seal of the State of Iowa. This seal is an in- 
strument by which the name and emblem of the 
State may be impressed upon paper, parchment, 
or other similar material upon which an official 
document is written. 

24. How Used. (96) — When the Governor has 
occasion to issue a proclamation, or sign a com- 



tiXE&l TlYi: DEPARTMENT 85 

mission, or to execute any other important instru- 
ment in his official capacity, he causes an impres- 
sion of the seal to be made thereon opposite his 
name. The presence of the seal upon the docu- 
ment is a sign and evidence of its official character 
and of the genuineness of the Governor's signa- 
ture. 

I 25. Secretary of State. (97) — It is the duty of 
the Secretary of State to keep and preserve all 
the original laws and resolutions of the legisla- 
ture, the original and authentic copies of the 
State constitutions and of the amendments there- 
to ; also all books, records, maps, registers, and 
papers lawfully deposited in his office. He coun- 
tersigns all commissions issued by the Governor, 
keeps a register of such commissions, and has 
many other duties of minor importance. 

26. Auditor of State. (97) — The office of Audi- 
tor of State is one of great importance. He is 
the general bookkeeper and accountant of the 
State. He keeps strict account of all financial 
transactions between the State and all other 
States, governments, officers, and private per- 
sons; settles the accounts of public debtors, and 
all claims against the treasury. No*money, how- 
ever small the amount, can be lawfully drawn 
from the State treasury otherwise than upon his 
written warrant or order. He is also charged 
with enforcing the laws regulating the business 
of insurance and of banking within the State. 

27. Treasurer of State. (97) — As indicated by 
his title, the chief dutv of the Treasurer is to 



86 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS ' 

receive, safely keep, and properly account for all 
moneys of the State. He must make no payments 
from the treasury but upon the warrant or order 
of the auditor, and must keep a full and detailed 
account of all his receipts and disbursements. 

28. Executive Council — The Governor, Secre- 
tary of State, Auditor of State, and Treasurer 
of State constitute what is called the Executive 
Council. This council superintends the State cen- 
sus, has charge and care of the property of the 
State where no other provision is made therefor, 
purchases the necessary furniture and supplies 
for the several State offices, and makes such other 
lawful expenditures as are found necessary and 
are not otherwise provided for. It also assesses 
railroads, express companies, and telephone and 
telegraph companies for the purposes of taxation, 
and equalizes the general assessment of property 
as between the different counties of the State. 

29. Attorney-General, (no) — The Attorney- 
General is the legal representative or attorney for 
the State. He must attend in person at each ses- 
sion of the General Assembly and give the mem- 
bers and State officers the benefit of his advice 
upon matters of law. He also represents the State 
in the courts in all matters affecting its interests. 

30. Superintendent of Public Instruction — This 
officer, commonly known as the State Superin- 
tendent, has general supervision of the county 
superintendents and of all the common schools 
of the State. He hears and decides appeals taken 
from the acts and decisions of county superin- 



EXECUTIVE DEPA RT UEHT 87 

tendents, attends teachers' institutes, and per- 
forms other services calculated to promote the 
efficiency of our system of public education. 

31. Railroad Commissioners — Under an act of 
the General Assembly the State is provided with 
a Board of Railroad Commissioners. This board 
is given authority to inquire into any neglect or 
violation of the laws of the State by railway cor- 
porations, and to examine the condition of rail- 
roads and railroad bridges and cause them to be 
kept in repair. It also hears complaints made 
against railroad companies on account of over- 
charges, and in a general way undertakes the 
adjustment of controversies arising out of the 
manner in which such companies conduct their 
business. By a late law the commissioners are 
given similar supervisory power over express 
companies. 

32. Terms of Office — Except the Judges, Clerk, 
and Reporter of the Supreme Court, mentioned 
in a subsequent chapter, the foregoing are all 
the State officials elected by the people. 

The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary 
of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney General, 
and Superintendent of Public instruction are 
elected in each even numbered year for a term of 
two years. 

Railroad Commissioners are elected for a term 
of four years, two to be elected every four years 
beginning with the year 1906 and one to be elected 
every four years beginning with the year 1908. 

33. Salaries — The salaries attached to the sefv- 



88 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

eral State offices which have been considered in 
this chapter are as follows: 

Governor . . ,$5000 

Lientenant Governor . . 2000 

Secretary of State . . . 2200 

Auditor of State 2200 

Treasurer of State 2200 

State Superintendent. 2200 

Railroad Commissioner . » ........ . 2200 

Attorney-general . , . 4000 

In addition to their regular salaries, the Secre- 
tary of State, Auditor, and Treasurer each receive 
$1200 per year for services upon the Executive 
Council. The Governor, for similar service, re- 
ceives $800 in addition to his salary. 

As the State has not yet provided an executive 
mansion, the legislature usually makes the Gov- 
ernor an additional allowance of $600 per year 
for house-rent. 



XON-ELECTIYE STATE OFFICERS 89 



CHAPTER XI 

KOX-ELECTIVE STATE OFFICERS 

i. How Selected— Numerous lesser offices have 
been created by law and are filled by the appoint- 
ment of the Governor or by the choice of the Gen- 
eral Assembly. The most important of these are 
Adjutant-General, Board of Health, Commis- 
sioner of Labor Statistics, Oil Inspector, Mine 
Inspector, Food and Dairy Commissioner, State 
Librarian, and State Fire Marshall, appointed by 
the Governor; and "Wardens of the State Peni- 
tentiaries, State Printer, and State Binder, chosen 
by the General Assembly. 

2. Adjutant-General — The Adjutant-General is 
chief inspector of the State militia, and keeps and 
preserves the military records of the State. He 
receives a salary of $2200 per year. 

3. Board of Health— The State Board of Health 
shall consist of the Attorney-General and the 
State Veterinary Surgeon, who shall be members 
by virtue of their offices, one Civil Engineer and 
seven physicians, to be appointed by the Governor, 
each to serve for a term of seven years and until 
his successor is appointed. It has general super- 
vision of matters affecting the health of the citi- 
zens of the State. It is also authorized to make 
such rules and regulations as it may deem nec- 
essary for the preservation or improvement of 



90 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

public health, and it is the duty of all other officers 
of the State, county, township, and city to co- 
operate in enforcing such rules and regulations. 
Members of the board receive no salary. 

4. Commissioner of Labor Statistics — This officer 
is most commonly called Labor Commissioner. 
His principal duty is to collect and publish statis- 
tics and information for the benefit of the labor- 
ing classes. The salary is $1800 per year. 

5. Oil Inspector — The Oil Inspector, in person 
or by deputies, is required to examine and test 
the quality of all petroleum oils offered for sale 
within the State for illuminating purposes. If 
any such oils are found to be of dangerous char- 
acter they are condemned, and it is made unlawful 
for the owner to sell them or offer them for sale 
after condemnation by the inspector. The inspect- 
or collects certain fees from owners of oils ex- 
amined and tested by him. Of these fees he re- 
tains $1800 per year as his compensation and pays 
the remainder into the State treasury. 

6. Mine Inspectors — There are three mine In- 
spectors. Practical coal-miners are usually se- 
lected for this position. It is their duty to in- 
spect the various mines of the State, and see 
that the laws regulating the manner of operating 
them are obeyed. They receive an annual, salary 
of $1800 each. 

7. Board of Parole — The Thirty-second General 
Assembly passed an act creating a Board of Pa- 
role consisting of three members to be appointed 
by the Governor with the approval of the senate. 






NGtt -ELECTIVE STATE OFFICERS 91 

The terms of office of the members of the First 
Board shall be for two, four, and six years re- 
spectively but subsequent appointments shall be 
for a period of six years. 

The Board of Parole shall have power to es- 
tablish rules and regulations under which it may 
allow prisoners within the penitentiaries, other 
than prisoners serving life terms, to go upon 
parole. The board is also made advisory to the 
Governor in the matter of final pardon, and it is 
made its duty, under his direction to take charge 
of all correspondence in reference to the pardon 
of persons convicted of crime and to file its rec- 
ommendation with the' Governor, with its reasons. 

8. Food and Dairy Commissioner — The Food and 
Dairy Commissioner is required to secure as far 
as possible the enforcement of the law to suppress 
and punish the fraudulent sale of imitation butter 
and cheese. He is also charged with the enforce- 
ment of the pure food laws. Salary, $2700. 

g. State Librarian and Fire Marshall — The Li- 
brarian has principal charge of the State Library. 
Salary, $2400. The Fire Marshall preserves a rec- 
ord of all fires within the State, their origin, ex- 
tent of loss, etc. Salary, $2500. 

io. Wardens — A Warden is selected for each of 
the two penitentiaries. He is charged with the 
general management and control of the prison 
over which he is appointed. Salary, $2000. 

ii. Printer and Binder— The State Printer and 
State Binder, as their titles indicate, print and 
bind the various books, reports, and public doc- 



92 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

uments issued by the State. They receive com- 
pensation in fees according to the work performed. 

12. Other Officers — In addition to officers above 
named we have a Pharmacy Commission, which 
examines and certifies to the competency of per- 
sons wishing to engage in buying and selling 
drugs and medicines ; a Custodian of Public 
Buildings, who has charge of the State capitol 
and grounds; a Veterinary Surgeon, who has 
general supervision of contagious and infectious 
diseases among domestic animals; a Fish and 
Game Warden, who looks after the preservation 
of fish in the waters of the State and the enforce- 
ment of the fish and game laws. And a Super- 
intendent of Weights and Measures, who has 
charge of the standards of weight and measure 
adopted by the State. 

13. Board of Control — The Board of Control of 
State Institutions was created by a recent act of 
the legislature. It consists of three members ap- 
pointed by the Governor. The members are ap- 
pointed for a term of six years at a salary of 
Three Thousand Dollars a year. The board has 
charge of all the State charitable and penal in- 
stitutions. 

14. Trustees, etc.— The government of the State 
charitable and educational institutions by boards 
of trustees and other similar bodies will be here- 
inafter explained. 

15. Historical Department — A Curator of His- 
torical Collections is appointed by the trustees 
of the State Library. His term of office is six 



ST 177: INSTITUTIONS 9o 

years, and salary $1800. The duty of this officer 
is to collect and arrange books, records, and ma- 
terials illustrative of the history of Iowa and the 
Western States, He also collects and preserves 
mementos of the pioneers and soldiers of Iowa, 



CHAPTER XII 

STATE INSTITUTIONS 

i. Educational — The State has established three 
large schools for the higher education of its 
young people. These are the State University at 
Iowa City, the State College of Agriculture and 
Mechanic Arts at Ames, and the State Teachers \ 
College at Cedar Falls. 

2. Reformatory — It has also established an In- 
dustrial School for the reformation and educa- 
tion of incorrigible and criminal children. This 
school has two departments or branches — one for 
boys at Eldora, and one for girls at Mitchellville. 
The age at which children may be committed to 
these institutions is as follows — boys between the 
ages of nine and sixteen ; girls between the ages of 
nine and eighteen. There is also a reformatory 
for adults at Anamosa. 

3. Penal — For the detention, punishment and 
reformation of persons convicted of grave offenses 
against the laws of the State there are peniten- 
tiaries at Fort Madison and Anamosa. At the 
latter place the prison has a separate department 
for women, and a ward for the criminal insane. 



94 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

4. Charitable — Iowa has also made generous 
provision for its needy and .afflicted. Its chief 
benevolent institutions are the 

Hospital for the Insane at Mt. Pleasant; 
Hospital for the Insane at Independence; 
Hospital for the Insane at Clarinda; 
Hospital for the Insane at Cherokee; 
School for the Deaf at Council Bluffs ; 
Institution for the Feeble-minded at Glenwood ; 
College for the Blind at Vinton ; 
Hospital for Inebriates at Knoxville; 
Soldiers' Home at Marshalltown ; 
Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Davenport; 
Sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis 
at Oakdale. 

5. Supervision — A Board of Education of nine 
members has general supervision of the State 
University, State Agriculture College, State 
Teachers' College and the College for the Blind at 
Vinton. All other State institutions are under 
the management of the Board of Control. 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 95 



CHAPTER XIII 

JUDICIAL. DEPARTMENT 

i. Judicial Power. (98) — The judicial power of 
the State is vested in a Supreme Court, District 
Court, and such other inferior courts as the Gen- 
eral Assembly may from time to time establish. 

2. Supreme Court. (99) — As originally estab- 
lished, the Supreme Court consisted of three 
Judges; but, under the power given the General 
Assembly to increase the number of Judges, the 
court as now constituted has six members. 

3. Election and Term. (100) — The Judges are 
elected by the qualified voters of the State for 
terms of six years each — the terms being so clas- 
sified that two Judges are elected every two years. 
The Judges whose terms first expire serve as 
Chief Justice for one year each, in the order of 
their seniority, the senior in age serving first. A 
Judge of the Supreme Court is ineligible to any 
other State office during the term for which he is 
elected. 

4. Jurisdiction. (101) — The Supreme Court has 
appellate jurisdiction in cases in chancery, and 
is a court for the correction of errors at law. It 
has no original jurisdiction, that is, no suit or 
action of any kind can be first begun in the 
Supreme Court. All legal proceedings are begun 



96 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

in some of the lower courts, and are brought into 
the Supreme Court by appeal. 

5. Chancery and Law. (101)— For the purposes 
of this work, the distinction between chancery 
and law may be thus explained : All cases brought 
in court for a mere money demand, as for in- 
stance an ordinary action to collect a debt or 
recover damages, are triable to a jury and are 
called actions at law; while all cases in which 
something more than a mere money judgment is 
asked; as, the granting of a divorce, the fore- 
closure of a mortgage, or the setting aside a 
fraudulent deed, are triable to the court without 
a jury, and are called suits in chancery. 

6. On Appeal. (101) — On appeal in a chancery 
case the Supreme Court hears and decides the con- 
troversy upon its merits without any reference 
to the decision from which the appeal is taken; 
but upon an appeal in an action at law it con- 
siders only the alleged errors or improper rulings 
of the lower court, and if it finds that a mistake 
has been made sends the case back for new trial. 
If no error is found the judgment appealed from 
is affirmed. 

7. Clerk — The Clerk of the Supreme Court 
keeps the records of the proceedings of that tri- 
bunal, and issues all writs and orders necessary 
to carry its decisions into effect. 

8. Reporter — The decisions of the Supreme 
Court are ordinarily accompanied by written 
opinions declaring and explaining the law upon 
the points or questions decided. It is the duty 



JUDWTA L DEPA RTMENT 97 

of the Reporter to collect and publish these opin- 
ions in book form. The series of books thus 
issued is known as the "Iowa Reports." 

9. Terms of Office — The Clerk and Reporter are 
elected for terms of four years each, beginning 
with the year 1898. 

10. District Court. (102) — The State was origi- 
nally divided into eleven judicial districts, in each 
of which was selected one District Judge. The 
districts now number twenty, are of irregular size, 
and have from one to four judges each. The 
court consists of a single Judge. Although there 
may be two or more Judges in a District, they 
do not sit together for the trial of cases. In this 
manner the court may be in session at several 
different places in the same district at the same 
time* 

11. Election of Judges. (102) — Judges of the 
District Court are elected for terms of four years 
each by the qualified voters of their respective 
districts, and during the term for which they are 
elected are ineligible to any other State office ex- 
cept that .of Judge of the Supreme Court. 

12. Jurisdiction. (103) — The District Court is a 
court of law and equity. The word "equity" as 
here used is equivalent to the word "chancery" 
already explained. Its jurisdiction embraces 
practically every kind of legal controversy, civil 
and criminal. All civil actions where the amount 
in controversy is over one hundred dollars must 
be brought in the District Court, while those in- 
volving a less sum may also be brought there or 



98 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

in a justice's court, at the option of the com- 
plaining party. 

13. Conservators of the Peace. (104)— Judges 
of the Supreme and District Court are conserva- 
tors of the peace throughout the State. "Con- 
servator of the Peace" is an ancient term ap- 
plied to. an officer who has the authority to pre- 
serve the public peace, as in the prevention and 
suppression of rioting, fighting, and brawling. 

14. Style of Process. (105) — By "process" is 
meant any writ or order issued by the court com- 
manding a public officer or private citizen to do or 
not to do some specified act. "Style," as here 
used, is the name indicating the authority by 
which the process is issued and may be enforced. 
The style of ^11 process is "The State of Iowa.' : 
For example, if a writ is issued commanding the 
sheriff to arrest a person or to do any other official 
act it will be directed to him in substantially the 
[following form : ' ' The State of Iowa, — To the 
Sheriff of Blank County: You are hereby com- 
manded," etc. All criminal prosecutions are con- 
ducted in the same manner. 

15. County Attorney. (112)— At the general 
election in each even-numbered year the qualified 
voters of each county elect a prosecuting attor- 
ney, whose duty it is to represent the State and 
County in the various courts and to conduct all 
criminal prosecutions. A criminal prosecution 
must always be begun in the county where the 
offense is committed. 



JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 99 

1 6. Salaries — The salaries of the several officers 
of the judicial department are as follows: 



Judge of the Supreme Court $6000 

Judge of the District Court. 3500 

Clerk of the Supreme Court 2200 

Supreme Court Reporter 2200 



The Clerk of the Supreme Court receives $600 
for each completed volume of the Supreme Court 
reports. 

The compensation of county attorneys varies 
from $900 to $2500, according to the population 
and amount of business performed. 

17. Grand Jury. (114) — At each regular term 
of the District Court a Grand Jury is impaneled. 
It may consist of any number of persons, not less 
than five nor more than fifteen, as the General 
Assembly may by law provide. 

18. Duty of Grand Jury — It is the duty of the 
Grand Jury to inquire into all indictable offenses 
committed within the county and to return in- 
dictments against the persons believed to be guilty 
thereof, if the evidence obtained is sufficient to 
justify such action. As elsewhere explained, an 
indictment is simply an accusation made by the 
Grand Jury charging the person therein named 
with some specific offense. All offenses the pun- 
ishment of which may exceed a fine of one hun- 
dred dollars or thirty days in the county jail are 
indictable. 



100 IOWA/ ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

Under the power granted to the Legislature 
by Article 5, Section 15, of the Constitution, a law 
has been passed whereby the County Attorney 
may file an information without the intervention 
of a Grand Jury. This law applies to cases in 
which the punishment is more than a fine of one 
hundred dollars or imprisonment for more than 
thirty days. The Court has power to proceed 
upon this information in exactly the same man- 
ner as if an indictment had been returned by a 
Grand Jury. 

19. Trial Jury — When a .person has been in- 
dicted and arrested lie enters a plea of "guilty" 
or "not guilty" to the charge made against him. 
If the plea is "not guilty," he is put upon trial. 
For this purpose a 'Trial Jury is formed entirely 
distinct from the Grand Jury. All jurors must 
be citizens, residents, and lawful voters in the 
county where they serve. 

20. Administration of Justice— The method of 
administering justice in criminal cases may be 
thus'briefly stated : The Grand Jury indicts or the 
County Attorney informs, the Sheriff arrests, the 
County Attorney prosecutes, the Trial Jury ren- 
ders the verdict "guilty" or "not guilty," and 
the Judge enters judgment according to the ver- 
dict so rendered. The Judge also presides at the 
trial, rules upon objections to the introduction of 
evidence, and decides all questions of law. 



THE STATE MILITIA 101 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE STATE MILITIA 

i. Of Whom Composed. (115) — All able-bodied 
male citizens of the State, between the ages of 
eighteen and forty-five years, constitute the Mi- 
litia, and may at any time be called upon by the 
State to be organized into companies and regi- 
ments, and to receive military drill and instruc- 
tion. 

2. Not Organized — The power of the State in 
this respect has never been exercised. The dan- 
ger of war is considered too remote to justify the 
annoyance and expense of maintaining a general 
organization, and the militia remains an unor- 
ganized but powerful reserve force, liable to be 
called into service at any time when the public 
safety seems to require it. 

3. National Guard — A small volunteer force 
known as the National Guard is authorized by 
the laws of the State. It consists at present of 
four regiments of infantry of twelve companies 
each. Each regiment is divided into three battal- 
ions of four companies each. 

The Governor is commander-in-chief, and may 
call out any part or all of the Guard whenever 
it is necessary to repel invasion, or to prevent or 
suppress insurrection, riot, or other breach of the 
peace. 



102 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

4. Exemption. (116) — Persons who are con- 
scientiously opposed to bearing arms may be ex- 
empted from military duty in times of peace. 

5, Election of Officers. (117) — All commissioned 
officers of the militia, except staff officers, are 
elected by the organization with whom they are 
to serve, and receive their commissions from the 
Governor. 



CHAPTER XV 

STATE DEBTS* 

i. The Public Credit. (118)— The State cannot 
lawfully give or lend its credit to any individual, 
association, ox corporation. It is also forbidden 
to assume the debts or liabilities of any indi- 
vidual, association, or corporation unless in- 
curred in time of war for the benefit of the State. 

2. Limitation of Indebtedness. (119) — Debts 
may be contracted to meet necessary expenses 
which have not been otherwise provided for, or 
to supply any deficiency in the ordinary income 
of the State, but the total amount of such in- 
debtedness must never exceed two hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars. 

3. A Wise Restriction — The wisdom of this con- 
stitutional safeguard against burdensome public 
debt has been demonstrated by the experience of 
many other States which, in the absence of such 
limitation, have given the aid of their credit to 
railroad and other private enterprises, and in- 



STATE DEBTS 103 

dulged in extravagant expenditures until brought 
to the verge of bankruptcy. 

4. Losses to School Fund. (120) — As explained 
in a subsequent chapter, the State has provided 
certain funds, the income from which is devoted 
to the support of its schools. If any loss occurs 
to these funds by the fraud, wrong, or misman- 
agement of the agents or officers in charge of 
them, such loss is to be treated as a permanent 
debt of the State, upon which not less than six 
per cent, interest shall be paid. 

5. War Debts. (121) — Debts may also be con- 
tracted beyond the limit named in the second 
paragraph of this chapter whenever such step is 
necessary to repel invasion, suppress insurrec- 
tion, or defend the State in time of war. Moneys 
raised under the extraordinary power thus given 
must not be applied to any other purpose what- 
ever. 

6. Other Debts. (122) — Other debts may be 
authorized by law for some single specified work, 
when the law providing for such work also pro- 
vides for a tax with which to meet the expense 
incurred, and the same has been approved by a 
vote of the people. 

No debt has ever been contracted by the State 
under this provision. 



104 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

CHAPTER XVI 

CORPORATIONS 

i. Word Defined — A corporation is ordinarily 
an association of several persons organized in 
the manner prescribed by law and given power 
to act and transact business as a single indi- 
vidual. A single individual may also become in- 
corporated by complying with certain legal re- 
quirements. 

2. Corporations for Profit — A corporation for- 
profit is one organized for the purpose of carry- 
ing on a business or enterprise for the pecuniary 
benefit of its members. Each member puts in 
such definite portion or share of the capital stock 
as he may subscribe, and beyond the amount so 
subscribed is not personally liable for any of the 
corporate debts. 

3. Other Corporations — Corporations are also 
frequently organized for religious, educational, 
or social purposes. Many churches, lodges, so- 
cieties, schools, and like organizations become 
corporate bodies of this class. Such corpora- 
tions ordinarily have no capital stock. 

4. Corporate Name — Each, corporation adopts 
a distinctive name, by which it is known and in 
which all its business is transacted. 

5. Utility of Corporations— Nearly all railroads, 
canals, and other great works of internal im- 
provement have been constructed by corpora- 



CORPORATIONS 105 

tions. Enterprises of this kind require such vast 
sums of money and are subject to so great risks 
that few if any men could be found with suffi- 
cient capital to undertake them, or, having the 
capital, would consent to so hazard it. By the 
use of corporations, however, a large number of 
people unite their comparatively small contribu- 
tions into a large aggregate sum, and thus accom- 
plish great works which otherwise would never 
be undertaken. In the same manner the most of 
the immense manufacturing and business enter- 
prises of modern times are rendered possible. 

6. Subject to Control — In view of the valuable 
privileges conferred upon corporations, and of 
the great power and influence exercised by aggre- 
gated wealth, the State reserves the right to reg- 
ulate the manner in which they may be formed 
and in which they shall transact business. The 
State may also by proper proceedings in court 
have a corporation dissolved and its right to do 
business annulled whenever it fails to observe the 
law. 

7, How Created — It was formerly the practice 
in most States to create each corporation by 
special act of the legislature. This plan was 
found to be productive of abuses and sometimes 
of corruption among legislators, and is now quite 
generally abandoned. Our own Constitution 
(125) forbids special legislation of this kind. A 
general law has been enacted prescribing certain 
simple rules and regulations by which any person 
or persons may become incorporated. 



106 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

60 Property Taxable. (126) — The property of 
corporations is taxable in the same manner as the 
property of individuals. 

9. State not to be a Stockholder. (127) — The 
State cannot become a stockholder in any cor- 
poration, nor can it lawfully assume the debt of 
any corporation unless incurred in timejof war 
for the benefit of the State. 

10. Municipal Corporations. (128) — Counties, 
cities, towns, and school districts, into which the 
State is divided for the purposes of local govern- 
ment, are called political or municipal corpora- 
tions, though the latter term is more often con- 
fined to incorporated cities and towns. All such 
corporations are forbidden to become stock- 
holders in any banking corporation, directly or 
indirectly, 

11. Banking Corporations. (129 to 136) — Sec- 
tions 5 to 12 inclusive of Article 8 of the Consti- 
tution, provide the manner in which corporations 
with general banking powers may be created. 
The banks here referred to are such as have the 
right to issue bills or notes to be circulated as 
money; but under the law of the United States 
providing for the national banking system, State 
banks of issue ceased to be profitable and no 
longer exist. These constitutional provisions are 
therefore of no present importance. Banks of 
deposit and exchange are provided for by act of 
the General Assembly. 

12. Transportation Companies — Railroads, ex- 
press and other corporations organized for the 






CORPORATIONS 107 

purpose of carrying passengers and freight are 
sometimes spoken of as public corporations. 
Though owned by private parties their duties are 
of a semi-public -nature, and the State assumes 
the right to supervise and regulate their dealings 
with the people. We have already noticed how 
this supervision is exercised through the Board 
of Railroad Commissioners. 

13. Commerce — All buying and selling in which 
goods or merchandise is transported from one 
town or place to another is commerce. The Con- 
stitution of the United States reserves to Con- 
gress alone, the power to regulate commerce be- 
tween the States. The State therefore can- 
not interfere with any corporation in the business 
of carrying passengers or freight from any point 
without the State to any point within it, or from 
any point within the State to any point without, 
except where Congress has expressly relinquished 
its supremacy. 

14. How Regulated — For the general regula- 
tion of commerce betwen the States, Congress has 
enacted the Interstate Commerce Law, and pro- 
vided for a national Board of Railway Commis- 
sioners appointed by the President of the United 
States. The State has supreme authority over 
all the traffic between the different cities, towns, 
and neighborhoods within its own borders. 



108 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 



CHAPTER XVII 

PUBLIC EDUCATION 

i. Obsolete Provisions. (138) — Sections 1 to 15, 
inclusive, of Article 9 of the Constitution created 
a State Board of Education, consisting of the 
Lieutenant-Governor and one additional member 
from each judicial district. 

The General Assembly was given power to 
change or abolish this board at any time after 
the year 1863, and did in fact abolish it in 1864, 
since which time the sections above mentioned 
have been inoperative. 

2. School Lands — By the liberality of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States, large grants of 
public lands were many years ago made to the 
State for the benefit of its schools. Some of 
these lands were appropriated to the special use 
of the State University, others to the State Agri- 
cultural College, and the remainder to the com- 
mon schools. 

3. Educational Funds — The moneys arising 
from the sales of these lands constitute perpetual 
or permanent funds, which are kept invested in 
interest-bearing securities, and the income thus 
realized is distributed at stated periods to the 
several beneficiaries. 

4. Escheats. (141) — When a person dies leav- 
ing no will or heir, his property goes to the State, 



PUBLIC EDUCATION 10!) 

aud becomes a part of the permanent fund for 
the support of common schools. 

Property thus coming to the State is called in 
law an escheat. 

5. Temporary School Fund— All forfeitures and 
fines, and the proceeds of the sales of lost 
goods and estray animals, are paid into the 
county treasury and constitute the Temporary 
School Fund. All moneys in this fund are dis- 
tributed among the several school districts of the 
county twice a year. 

6. How Distributed. (145) — The interest de- 
rived from the Permanent School Fund, together 
with the moneys in the Temporary Fund, are dis- 
tributed to all the school districts in proportion 
to the number of youths between the ages of five 
and twenty-one years. 

7. State University— It is provided by law that 
"the object of the State University shall be to 
provide the best and most efficient means of im- 
parting to young men and women on equal terms, 
a liberal education and thorough knowledge of 
literature, the arts and sciences, with their varied 
applications.' ' 

8. Preparation Required — So far as practicable, 
the courses of study in the University begin 
where the same are completed in the high schools ; 
and no student can be admitted who has not com- 
pleted the elementary studies in such branches as 
are taught in the common schools. 

9. State College of Agriculture and Mechanic 
Arts — This institution, now commonly known as 



110 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

the " State College/' provides for the student a 
broad, liberal, and practical course of study, in 
which the leading branches of learning relate to 
agriculture and the mechanic arts. It also em- 
braces such other lines of study as will most prac- 
tically and liberally educate the agricultural and 
industrial classes in the several pursuits and pro- 
fessions of life, including military tactics. 

io. State Teachers' College— The State Teach- 
ers' College is established and maintained for the 
special instruction and training of teachers. 

ii. Work Accomplished — Each, of these schools 
has been very successful in its special line of work. 
All have a liberal attendance of students and 
many of their graduates have achieved a high de- 
gree of success and fame in the various pursuits 
of life. 

12. County High-Schools — Each county may, by 
complying with certain conditions, establish a 
High School for the purpose of affording ad- 
vanced pupils better educational facilities than 
are ordinarily found in district schools. 

13. High-School Departments — Only one county 
maintains its High School, but most of the graded 
schools in cities and towns of any importance have 
high-school departments, affording all the advan- 
tages which could be derived from a county school. 
A legislative act has provided for a normal course 
to be given in certain High Schools, and the State 
furnishes funds for these courses. 

14. School Districts — The organization of School 
Districts will be considered in a later chapter. 



CONSTITUTION 1 L AMENDMEU T8 111 



CHAPTER XVIII 

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 

i. How Proposed. (146) — Any amendment to 
the Constitution may be proposed in either house 
of the General Assembly, and, if agreed to by a 
majority of all the members elected to each house, 
it is then laid over to be acted upon by the next 
General Assembly. Before the next election no- 
tice of the proposed amendment is published 
throughout the State, and if the General Assem- 
bly next elected agrees to it by a like majority, 
the question is finally submitted to a vote of the 
people. If these various steps have been regu- 
larly pursued, and a majority of those voting 
upon the question is found to be in favor of the 
proposition, the amendment becomes part of the 
Constitution. 

2. Why these Formalities — As the standard by 
which all legislative acts, judicial decisions, and 
private rights are to be determined, it is a matter 
of great importance that the Constitution be as 
fixed and stable as possible, and that all proposed 
changes be thoroughly discussed and understood 
by the people. By the plan above outlined, at 
least two years are given for the discussion and 
examination of a proposed amendment, and an 
effectual guard is thus created against hasty and 
ill-advised changes. 



112 TOW A, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

3. Separate Vote. (147) — If two or more 
amendments are submitted at the same time, it 
must be done in such manner that they can be voted 
upon separately. Of several amendments the 
voter may desire to support some and oppose 
others, and this provision for a separate vote 
enables him to do so. 

4. Constitutional Convention. (148) — Once every 
ten years, beginning with the year 1870, the ques- 
tion " Shall there be a Convention to revise the 
Constitution and amend the same?" is submitted 
to the voters of the State. 

The General Assembly may also submit the 
question at any time. If a majority of votes is 
cast in the affirmative, the General Assembly at 
its next sessiop. provides for th6 election of dele- 
gates to such convention by the duly qualified 
voters of the State. 

5. Work of Convention — The delegates thus 
selected meet and make such revision of the Con- 
stitution as they deem wise ; but before their work 
is of any validity it must be approved by the 
voters of the State at an election held for that 
purpose. Since the adoption of the present Con- 
stitution, in the year 1857, no convention has been 
called. 

6. Amendments Adopted — Prior to the year 1863 
negro slavery prevailed in nearly one-half of the 
nation, and even in the free States there were 
strong prejudices against conceding equal politi- 
cal rights to colored citizens. Under these in- 
fluences the Constitution of the State, as origi- 



MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 113 

nally adopted, excluded this class of people from 
the right of suffrage (30) and the right to mem- 
bership in the General Assembly (40, 41). It also 
excluded - them from enumeration in the census 
(70), from representation in both houses of the 
General Assembly (71, 72), and from the State 
militia (115). All these discriminations were 
abolished by amendments adopted in 1868. 

7. Other Amendments — Several other amend- 
ments have been adopted, and will be found clearly 
noted in their proper connection in the text of 
the Constitution (see Chapter I). 



CHAPTEB XIX 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

i. Justice's Courts. (149) — The jurisdiction of 
Justices of the Peace extends to all civil cases 
within their respective counties, where the amount 
in controversy does not exceed one hundred dol- 
lars, except cases in chancery or cases in which the 
title to real property is involved. By consent of 
the parties the jurisdiction may be extended to 
any amount not exceeding three hundred dollars. 

2. Jurisdiction Defined — By the word "juris- 
diction" as applied to courts, is meant the author- 
ity to hear, try, and determine cases and proceed- 
ings brought for the settlement of legal contro- 
versies, and the power to declare and enforce the 
law. 



114 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

3. New Counties. (150) — No new county can be 
created having less than four hundred and thirty- 
two square miles. This area is the equivalent of 
twelve townships, according to the government 
survey. Counties are organized for local gov- 
ernment and local convenience, and to make them 
unnecessarily numerous would increase the pub- 
lic expense for court-houses and salaries of county 
officers, without compensatory advantages, 

4. Exception. (150) — Worth county and the 
counties west of it along the northern boundary of 
the State are excepted from this rule, and may be 
organized with an area less than four hundred 
and thirty-two square miles. This exception is 
made because the north boundary of the State 
(which is forty-three degrees and thirty minutes 
north latitude) lies a little south of the north line 
of the surveyed townships along that border. 
This discrepancy places a small portion of each 
of these bordering townships over the line in the 
State of Minnesota, but the larger fractions left 
under the jurisdiction of Iowa are treated as full 
townships for the purpose of county organiza- 
tion. 

5. Limit of Indebtedness. (151) — No county, 
city, town, or school district is allowed to become 
indebted in any manner or for any purpose to an 
amount exceeding five per centum of the assessed 
value of the taxable property within its jurisdic- 
tion. Any contract or promise to pay in excess 
of this limit is void, and cannot be enforced at 
law. 



MISCELLANEOl S PRO} ISIONS 115 

6. Oath of Office (153) — Every person elected 
or appointed to any office is required before enter- 
ing thereon to take an oath or affirmation that lie 
will support the Constitution of the United States 
and of the State of Iowa, and will faithfully, im- 
partially, and to the best of his ability discharge 
the duties of such office. 

7. Vacancies in Office. (154) — A vacancy occur- 
ring in any elective office is, as a rule, temporarily 
filled by appointment. The person appointed 
holds only until the next regular election, at which 
time some one is elected to fill the place. He who 
is thus elected to fill a vacancy holds the office for 
the remainder of the unexpired term. 

8. Appointments — Appointments to fill va- 
cancies are made as follows : 

By the Supreme Court in the offices of clerk and 
reporter of the Supreme Court ; 

By the Governor, in all other State offices and 
in the membership of any board or commission 
created by the State; 

By the Board of Supervisors, in all county 
offices except in the office of supervisor, which is 
filled by the county auditor, clerk, and recorder; 

By the Township Trustees, in all township 
offices except where the offices of all three trustees 
are vacant, when the township clerk may appoint ; 

By the Mayor or by the Mayor and Council, in 
all municipal offices except in cases where a special 
election is provided for by law. 

A vacancy in either house of the General As- 
sembly cannot be filled by appointment, but in such 



116 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

case the Governor issues an order for a special 
election by the people of the district where the 
vacancy exists. 

9. State Capital. (156)— The seat of govern- 
ment is permanently established at Des Moines, 
and the State University at Iowa City. Neither 
can be changed or removed to any other location 
without a constitutional amendment. 

10. Schedule, (is?-^) — Article 12 of the Con- 
stitution, entitled "Scedule," is in effect an ap- 
pendix to the main body of the instrument pre- 
scribing when and how the Constitution should 
take effect, the time of holding the first elections 
thereunder, and other similar matters w T hose tem- 
porary purposes have been served and require now 
no special consideration. 



CuUSTIES AND VOL STY GOVERNMENT 11 



CHAPTER XX 

COUNTIES AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT 

i. Number and Area — The State is divided into 
ninety-nine counties. With a few exceptions 
these counties are rectangular in form and con- 
tain either twelve or sixteen surveyed townships, 
each six miles square. 

2. County-seats — Each county has selected some 
convenient town or site as its seat of local gov- 
ernment. At this place, known as the "county- 
seat, ' ' are erected a court-house and offices for the 
several county officers. Here the terms of the 
District Court are held, the records of the county 
are kept, and the county business generally is 
transacted. County-seats may be changed or re- 
located by vote of the people at an election prop- 
erty called for that purpose. 

3. County Officers — The officers of the county 
are Supervisors, Auditor, Treasurer, Recorder, 
Clerk of the District Court, Sheriff, County Attor- 
ney, Superintendent of Schools, Surveyor, and 
Coroner. 

4. Supervisors — The general supervision and 
management of county affairs is intrusted to a 
Board of Supervisors. The board regularly con- 
sists of three persons, but by vote of the people 
the membership may be increased to five or seven. 



118 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

They are elected for terms of three years each, 
but the terms must be so arranged that at least 
one Supervisor may be elected each year. 

5. Duties of Board — The Board of Supervisors 
is charged with numerous and important duties, 
the most important of which are as follows: 

(a) To manage and control the county 
property. 

(b) To settle with all county officers concern- 
ing the receipts and expenditures of their several 
offices. 

(c) To build and keep in repair the necessary 
county buildings and all county bridges. 

(d) To establish, change, and vacate public 
roads. 

(e) To provide for the relief and support of 
the poor of the county. 

(/) To examine all claims made against the 
county and allow such as they find to be just. 

(g) To canvass the votes of the county at gen- 
eral and special elections ; and 

(h) To represent the county in all litigation, 
and in general to protect its rights and interests 
as circumstances may seem to render necessary. 

6. Meetings — Regular meetings of the Board of 
Supervisors occur on the second secular day in 
January and on the first Monday in April and 
June and the second Monday in September in 
each year, and on the first Monday in November 
in the odd numbered years, and on the first Mon- 
day after the general election in the even num- 
bered years. Special meetings may be held from 



COUNTIES AND COUNTY GO) ERNMENT ] 1!) 

time to time in the discretion of the Board. All 
meetings shall be held at the county-seat. 

7. Auditor — The County Auditor acts as clerk 
of the Board of Supervisors, records its proceed- 
ings, signs all orders or warrants upon the Treas- 
urer for the payment of claims allowed by the 
Board, and makes out and delivers to the Treas- 
urer the yearly tax-lists. He is the general 
accountant or bookkeeper of the county, and keeps 
a detailed account and record by which the board 
may settle with all other county officers and 
agents. He also has special care and charge of 
the court-house, subject to the direction of the 
Supervisors, and performs such other services as 
may be required of him by law. 

8. Treasurer — The Treasurer receives all money 
payable to the county, and disburses it only on the 
proper warrant or order signed by the Auditor 
and sealed with the county seal. He also collects 
the taxes, and keeps an exact and faithful record 
of all his receipts and payments of public funds. 

9. Recorder — The Becorder copies in full and 
at length upon the books of his office all contracts, 
deeds, mortgages, and other written instruments 
delivered to him for that purpose, which in any 
way transfer, change, or affect the title to prop- 
erty situated within the county. 

10. Clerk — The Clerk keeps a record of all the 
proceedings of the District Court, and issues all 
writs, warrants, and process required by law or 
by order of the court in such proceedings. He 
issues licenses for all marriages to be solemnized, 



120 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

and keeps a register of all births and deaths 
within the county. 

ii. Sheriff — The Sheriff, by himself or deputy, 
serves all writs and other legal process issued to 
him by the court or other competent authority. 
He has charge of the county jail, and is required 
to receive and safely keep all persons duly com- 
mitted to his custody until they are lawfully dis- 
charged. 

12. Conservator of the Peace — It is his duty to 
prevent and suppress all violence and public 
offenses of every kind, and when necessary may 
call to his aid any citizen or citizens of the county. 
A citizen of the county when called upon by the 
Sheriff to assist him in preserving the peace or 
making an arrest cannot lawfully refuse so to 
do. 

13. County Attorney — As we have already noted 
in the chapter upon the Judicial Department of 
the State, the County Attorney is the public prose- 
cutor or attorney for the State in all prosecutions 
for crime committed within his county. It is also 
his duty to appear for and defend the county in 
all civil litigation, and give the benefit of his ad- 
vice to the county officers in matters relating to 
their official duties. 

14. Superintendent of Schools — As his title im- 
plies, the Superintendent has general supervision 
of the public schools. He conducts examinations 
of applicants for license to teach and forwards 
the answer papers to the State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction with a list of all the applicants 



COUNTIES AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT 121 

examined with the standing of each in didactics 
and oral reading and his estimate of each appli- 
cant's personality and general fitness, other than 
scholarship, for the work of teaching. The 
papers are graded under the supervision of the 
Educational Board of Examiners. He also visits 
the schools from time to time, holds teachers ' insti- 
tutes, and makes annual reports to the State 
Superintendent as to the state and condition of 
public education in his county. 

15. Decides Appeals — The County Superintend- 
ent is also authorized to hear and decide all 
appeals properly taken from any order or decision 
of a district Board of Directors. 

16. Surveyor— The County Surveyor surveys 
lands and establishes boundary lines and corners 
whenever called upon for that purpose by persons 
interested therein. Surveys made by him, within 
his county and properly recorded, are presumed 
to be correct until proved to be otherwise. 

17. Coroner — The Coroner is required to hold 
inquest upon the dead bodies of such persons as 
are supposed to have died by unlawful means. 
He also performs the duties of sheriff in the ab- 
sence, disability, or disqualification of that officer. 

18. Terms of County Officers — County officers, 
except members of the Board of Supervisors, are 
chosen for terms of two years each, being elected 
in the even numbred years. 

19. Eligibility of Women — Women are by law 
made eligible to the offices of Recorder and Super- 
intendent of Schools. 



122 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

20. Salaries and Compensation — The salaries of 
county officers are in some instances graded 
according to the population of the counties; in 
other instances are left, in whole or in part, to the 
discretion of the Board of Supervisors; and in 
still others are wholly dependent on the fees col- 
lected. 

The following list shows with substantial accu- 
racy the compensation received : 

Auditor $1,200 to $2,100 

Treasurer 1,200 to 3,500 

Clerk 1,100 to 2,200 

Attorney 900 to 2,500 

Sheriff 2,000 to 3,500 

Eecorder 1,200 to 2,000 

Superintendent 1,200 to 1,500 

Surveyor 4 per day 

(to be paid by those who employ his 

services). 
Coroner Fees (according 

to the services performed). 



TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT 123 



CHAPTER XXI 

TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT 

i. Congressional Townships — When the lands 
embraced within the State of Iowa were still 
owned by the Government of the United States, 
they were surveyed, in obedience to an act of Con- 
gress, into tracts, or . blocks, six miles square, 
these blocks being in turn subdivided into smaller 
blocks of one mile square. Each of the large 
blocks is called a "Congressional township M or a 
"township according to government survey. " 
The smaller blocks or subdivisions are called 
" sections. " As shown in the preceding chapter, 
the boundary-lines of the counties are usually 
made to coincide with some of these lines of the 
government survey. 

2. Civil Townships — For the purposes of greater 
convenience of local or neighborhood government, 
each county is divided into smaller parts, each of 
which is called a township. To distinguish these 
townships from those of the government survey, 
they are usually spoken of as "civil townships.' ' 

In most counties each congressional township is 
organized into a civil township, but there are quite 
frequent exceptions to this rule. The division 
of the county into townships is made by the Board 
of Supervisors, which has the power to increase 



124 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

the number or change the boundaries in such man- 
ner as it may deem wise. 

3. Township Officers — In each civil township 
there are three Trustees, one Clerk, two Justices 
of the Peace, two Constables, one Assessor, and 
one or more Road Supervisors. i 

4. Trustees — The Township Trustees act as 
overseers of the poor, equalize the assessment of 
property for the purposes of taxation, decide con- 
troversies as to boundary fences between adjacent 
landowners, assess damages done by trespassing 
animals, and serve as judges of election. They 
also act as a board of health, and perform other 
duties as may be required by law. 

5. Justices of the Peace— A Justice of the Peace 
has authority to sit as a court for the trial of all 
cases coming within the limit of his jurisdiction. 
As has been before explained, this jurisdiction in 
civil matters is restricted to cases where the 
amount in controversy does not exceed one hun- 
dred dollars, and in criminal matters to cases 
where the punishment cannot exceed a fine of. one 
hundred dollars or thirty days' imprisonment in 
the county jail. 

6. Other Powers— He may also solemnize mar- 
riages, take the acknowledgement of deeds and 
other written instruments, administer oaths, and, 
in the absence of the coroner, may hold inquests 
upon dead bodies when the circumstances call for 
such investigation. 

7. Constables — The principal duties of Con- 
stables are to serve notices and execute warrants 



TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT 125 

and writs issued by Justices of the Peace. They 
are also required to serve all notices and other 
process lawfully directed to them by the Town- 
ship Trustees, Township Clerk, or by any court. 

8. Clerk — The Clerk keeps a record of the pro- 
ceedings of the Township Trustees, acts as clerk 
of election, makes out the road-tax lists for the use 
of the Road Supervisors, and receives and dis- 
burses the road tax collected by the County Treas- 
urer for the use of his township. 

9. Assessor — It is the duty of the Assessor to 
make and deliver to the County Auditor a list of 
all taxable property in his township, together with 
his estimate of the value of each item of such 
property. The value thus fixed by him, after 
being revised and equalized by the Township 
Trustees, is the basis upon which all taxes are 
levied. Personal property is thus assessed every 
year, but real estate is assessed once in two years. 

10. Road Supervisors — Each township is divided 
by the Trustees into districts of convenient size, 
in each of which a Road Supervisor is elected. 
This supervisor has charge of the improvement 
and repairs of the public roads in his district. 
He expends the moneys collected for road pur- 
poses, and when any part of the road tax is pay- 
able in labor he calls out the persons liable to 
such duty and directs the manner in which it shall 
be performed. 



126 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 



CHAPTEE XXII 

CITIES AND TOWNS 

i. Incorporation — Until incorporated^ a city, 
town, or village is considered simply &s a part of 
the civil township in which it is situated, and has 
no distinct or separate local government. Incor- 
poration is a legal proceeding by which such city 
or town is granted certain rights and privileges 
of local self-government. 

2. How Obtained — Incorporation is obtained by 
applying to the District Court and obtaining an 
order for ar\ election to be held in the territory 
proposed to be incorporated. If a majority of 
votes is cast in its favor and the proceedings are 
approved by the court the incorporation is com- 
plete, and another election is called for the selec- 
tion of officers. When spoken of as a class, cities 
and towns thus set apart and granted powers of 
local self-government, are usually called Munici- 
pal Corporations. 

3. Classes — The municipal corporations of this 
State are — 

1. Cities of the first class; 

2. Cities of the second class ; 

3. Towns. Town sites platted and unincor- 
porated are called villages. 

4. Towns — A municipal corporation having less 
than two thousand inhabitants is called a Town. 



CITIES AXD TOW \s 127 

5. Elective Officers — The elective officers of a 
town are one Mayor, one Treasurer, one Assessor, 
and five Council men. 

The council may by ordinance provide for the 
election of such other subordinate officers as it 
may deem necessary for the purposes of good gov- 
ernment. 

6. Mayor — The Mayor is the chief executive 
officer of the town, presides at the meetings of the 
council, and has a vote on all questions coming 
before it. He is also a magistrate with the pow- 
ers of a justice of the peace, and has exclusive 
jurisdiction to try persons charged with violation 
of the town ordinances. 

7. Clerk — The Clerk is appointed by the Coun- 
cil and keeps a record of all the proceedings of the 
Council. He has no vote in the Council. 

8. Treasurer— The Treasurer has custody of all 
moneys belonging to the town, and pays them out 
upon the order of the council and warrant of the 
Clerk. 

9. Assessor — The duties of the Assessor within 
the town are similar to those of a township 
assessor, which are explained in the preceding 
chapter. An Assessor is also elected in each city 
of the first and second class. 

10. Marshal, etc. — The Mayor appoints a Mar- 
shal, who has the powers of a constable. He ex- 
ecutes the process of the Mayor, and preserves 
the public peace and order within the limits of 
the town. The mayor also appoints a health phy- 
sician and street commissioner. 



128 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

ii. Powers of Town — Every town has power to 
prevent and suppress nuisances, riots, and 
breaches of the peace, to lay out and improve 
streets, to provide regulations against danger 
from fire, to prevent animals from running at 
large, to construct or permit the construction of 
water-works, and in general to do all those things 
which are necessary and reasonable to preserve 
the public peace and promote the safety and con- 
venience of its inhabitants. 

12. Terms of Office — All elective officers of an 
incorporated town serve terms of two years each. 

13. Ordinances — The local laws and regulations 
enacted by the council are called ordinances. 
Persons violating these ordinances may be pun- 
ished by fine or imprisonment. 

14. Cities of the Second Class — Municipal cor- 
porations having more than two thousand and less 
than fifteen thousand inhabitants are cities of the 
second class. 

15. Powers — Cities of the second class have all 
the powers and privileges of towns, together with 
certain additional privileges relating to public im- 
provements and the regulation of business done 
within the city limits. 

16. Wards — Each city is subdivided into 
smaller parts called wards. The city council is 
composed of one councilman from each ward 
elected by the qualified voters of such ward, and 
two councilmen at large elected by the qualified 
voters of the city. Councilmen are elected for a 



CITIES AND TOWNS 129 

term of two years. Members of the council are 
commonly called councilmen or aldermen. 

17. Mayor — The Mayor of a city of the second 
class is elected for two years. He presides at the 
meetings of the council, but has no vote upon 
questions coming before it except in cases of a 
tie. He is also a magistrate with the same powers 
as the mayor of an incorporated town. 

18. Solicitor — The Citv Solicitor is also elected 
for two years. He is the legal adviser of the city 
and its officers, and represents its interests in all 
litigation. In cities of four thousand inhabitants 
or less he is appointed by the council. 

ic. Clerk — The Clerk is appointed by the coun- 
cil, and performs duties similar to those required 
of the Clerk of a town. 

20. Marshal, etc.— A Marshal, a health physi- 
cian, a street commissioner and as many police- 
men as are deemed necessary are appointed by 
the Mayor. 

21. Cities of First Class — All cities having more 
than fifteen thousand inhabitants rank as cities of 
the first class. 

22. Officers — The officers of a city of the first 
class are Mayor, Councilmen, Solicitor, and 
Treasurer, having in general substantially the 
same powers as are exercised by officers of like 
name in cities of the second class. In addition 
to those named, each city of this class elects an 
Auditor, who keeps the books and accounts of the 
corporation; a Police Judge, who hears and de- 



130 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

cides cases arising under the city ordinances ; and 
an Engineer, who surveys and determines the 
grades of streets and does other skilled work of 
that nature. In addition to ward councilmen each 
city of the first class elects two councilmen at 
large. 

23. Police — The Mayor of a city of the first 
class appoints the members of the police force, 
including a Marshal or Chief of Police, who hold 
their office during his pleasure. In cities of a 
population of more than twenty thousand the 
Chief of Police and Chief of the fire department 
are appointed by the Board of Police and Fire 
Commissioners, which board is appointed by the 
Mayor. 

24. Superior fcourt — Any city containing a pop- 
ulation of four thousand or more may by vote of 
its qualified electors establish a Superior Court. 
The judge of this court is elected at a regular 
city election, and holds his office for a term of 
four years. 

25. Jurisdiction — The Superior Court has ex- 
clusive jurisdiction to try and determine all ac- 
tions for violation of the city ordinances. It also 
has the power and authority usually exercised by 
justices of the peace, and in most civil matters 
exercises equal jurisdiction with the District 
Court. • 

26. Salary of Judge — A judge of the Superior 
Court receives a salary of $2000 per year, one 
half of which is paid from the city treasury and 
the other half from the county treasury. 



CITtm AXD T01YXS 131 

27. Number — Council Bluffs, Cedar Eapids, 
Oelwein, Shenandoah, Perry, Keokuk, and Grin- 
nell are the only cities in the State now (1912) 
maintaining a Superior Court. 

28. Annual Elections — Except in some cities un- 
der special charters, the regular annual election 
for all city and town officers takes place on the 
last Monday in March. 

29. Special Charters — It will be remembered 
that the present Constitution of the State (66) 
prohibits the incorporation of cities by special act 
of the Legislature, but at the time this provision 
was adopted a few of the older cities had already 
been incorporated by that method. 

Of these cities, Dubuque, Davenport, Grlenwood, 
and Wapello still retain their special charters 
granted under the old Constitution, but their gov- 
ernment does not differ in essential particulars 
from that of other cities of the first class. 

30. Abandonment — Any city or incorporated 
town may abandon its corporate government by 
vote of its qualified electors at an election called 
for that purpose. 

If at such election two-thirds of the votes cast 
are in favor of the proposition and all corporate 
debts are paid, the corporation will be discon- 
tinued. 

31. Commission Plan of Government — By an act 
of the Legislature cities having a population 
of seven thousand or more may adopt what 
is known as the Commission form of city gov- 
ernment. This is done by an election, which 



132 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

may be called on petition of twenty-five per cent, 
of the voters. 

Commissioners are elected at large to take the 
place of the council, and these Commissioners 
have charge of the city's affairs. The object of 
this system is to eliminate many of the evils which 
ordinarily exist in city governments. 

In order to give the people greater control over 
city affairs, provision is made for the removal 
of officers with whom they are dissatisfied. Such 
method of removal is known as the Eecall. 

There are also other means to give the people 
control over the management^ of the city affairs. 
These are the Initiative and Eeferendum. The 
Initiative is a provision by which the people may 
propose legislation without waiting for the ac- 
tion of the Commissioners. The Eeferendum is a 
provision requiring ordinances, such as those ap- 
propriating money or granting franchises, to be 
submitted to the people for their approval. 

The commission plan may be discontinued by 
a vote of the inhabitants in the same manner as 
the plan is adopted. 

Seven cities in Iowa have adopted (1912) this 
plan of city government. 



SCHOOL DISTRICTS 133 



CHAPTER XXIII 

SCHOOL DISTRICTS 

i. Districts— Each civil township is a School 
District and is ordinarily subdivided into smaller 
parts called sub-districts. The township when 
spoken of in its capacity as a school district is 
called a School Township. 

2. Directors — Annually on the first Monday in 
March each sub-district elects a sub-director and 
the sub-directors thus elected together form a 
Board of Directors for the district township. 
The rural independent, city independent, and in- 
dependent townships elect directors on the second 
Monday in March. 

3. Government — The management of district 
affairs is exercised in part by the voters assem- 
bled in annual meeting and in part by the Board 
of Directors. 

4. Annual Meeting — On the second Monday in 
March of each year the voters of the district 
township convene in a mass or general meeting. 
When thus legally assembled, they consider and 
determine many matters relating to district gov- 
ernment, among the most important of which is 
the voting of taxes for the construction of school- 
houses and for the purchase of grounds. 

5. Organization of Board — The Board of Direc- 
tors shall meet in the first secular day in July 



134 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AND LAWS 

and organize by electing a president from their 
own number, and a secretary and treasurer from 
outside the board. In some districts the treas- 
urer is elected by the people. 

6. Powers of Board— The Board of Directors 
makes all contracts, purchases, sales, and pay- 
ments necessary to carry out any vote of the dis- 
trict, and, subject to the powers vested in the 
annual meeting of the voters, it has full charge 
and control of the schools and school property 
within the district. 

7. Powers of Sub-Directors— Under such reason- 
able rules and regulations as the board may 
adopt, each sub-director provides fuel for the 
school in his sub-district, employs teachers, keeps 
the buildings in repair, and has general control 
and management of the schoolhouse. 

8. Independent Districts — Any city, town, or 
village may be made into a separate Independent 
School District by a vote of the people at an elec- 
tion called for that purpose. As a general rule 
all cities and towns are organized as Independent 
Districts, while in agricultural communities the 
district township system is retained. 

9. Board of Directors — Subject to the rights of 
the voters in annual meeting, the government of 
an independent district is vested in a Board of 
Directors. In cities of the first class the^ board 
of directors of an independent district has seven 
members, in all other cities and towns five mem- 
bers, and in rural independent districts three 
members. They are chosen for three years each 



SCHOOL DISTRICTS 135 

and their terms are so classified that at least one 
is elected each year. 

10. Officers — The Directors elect a President 
from their own number, and a Secretary from the 
district at large, the same as is done in district 
townships. In districts composed in whole or in 
part of cities or towns a treasurer shall be elected 
in the same manner as are the directors. His 
term of office shall be two years. 

ii. Election — The regular annual election and 
the annual meeting of the voters in each independ- 
ent district occur together on the second Monday 
in March. 

12. Schools — Under the system prevailing in 
this State every sub-district and independent dis- 
trict is supplied with at least one common school. 
The number of schools in each sub-district and 
independent district, and the location of the 
schoolhouses, are left to the discretion of the 
Board of Directors. 

13. School Year — Twenty-four weeks of five 
days each constitute a school year. During this 
period a school must be taught in each sub-dis- 
trict and independent district for pupils between 
the ages of five and twenty-one years, unless oth- 
erwise directed by the County Superintendent. 
In actual practice most of the schools are in ses- 
sion from thirty-two to forty weeks in each year. 

14. Branches Taught — In these schools pupils 
are instructed in reading, writing, spelling, arith- 
metic, geography, grammar, physiology, hygiene, 
and elementary civics and economics, with such 



136 IOWA, ITS CONSTITUTION AXD LAWS 

additional branches as the voters may determine 
upon at their regular annual meeting. 

15. How Supported — The moneys arising from 
the permanent and temporary school funds of the 
State, though of great importance, furnish but a 
comparatively small part of the support of the 
common schools. The remainder required for 
such support is supplied by taxation in the several 
districts according to their needs. 

16. Schools Free — The schools of each district 
are entirely free to all persons of the proper age 
residing therein. If, however, there are two or 
more schools in the district where the pupil re- 
sides, the directors are authorized to decide which 
school he may attend. 

17. Compulsory Attendance— Children of the age 
of seven to fourteen years inclusive, in proper 
physical and mental condition shall attend some 
public, private, or parochial school where the 
common branches of reading, writing, spelling, 
arithmetic, grammar, geography, physiology, and 
United States history are taught, or to attend 
upon equivalent instruction by a competent teacher 
elsewhere than school for at least twenty-four 
consecutive school weeks in each year commencing 
with the first week of school after the first day 
of September, unless the board of school directors 
shall determine upon a later date which date shall 
not be later than the first Monday in December, 



TAXATION L37 



CHAPTER XXIV 

TAXATION 

i. Assessment — We have already learned that 
property is assessed or valued for taxation by 
Assessors elected for that purpose in the several 
townships, towns, and cities of the State. 

2. Equalization— When the assessors have com- 
pleted their work the lists are submitted for ex- 
amination and correction to the township trustees? 
or town or city council, as the case may be, acting 
as a Board of Equalization. The board also 
hears and decides complaints of those who dis- 
pute or criticise the estimates made by the as- 
sessors. 

3. State Taxes— The rate of taxation for State 
purposes is determined by the General Assembly, 
and notice thereof is transmitted by the State 
Auditor to each County Auditor. 

4. County Taxes — The rate for county purposes 
is fixed by the Board of Supervisors in each 
county. 

5. School Taxes — Taxes for school purposes are 
usually divided into three accounts or funds, 
known respectively as the Schoolhouse, Teachers % 
and Contingent Fund. The tax for the School- 
house Fund is voted by the people of each dis- 
trict at their annual meeting, while the amounts 
required for the other funds are estimated by 



138 IOWA, ITS COXtiTlTUTWX AND LAWS 

the Board of Directors— -all of which is certified 
by the directors to the County Auditor. 

6. Municipal Taxes — Taxes for town and city 
purposes are fixed by the council of each town 
or city according to its needs, and are likewise 
certified to the County Auditor. 

7. Levy — The Board of Supervisors at its reg- 
ular September meeting in each year proceeds to 
order the collection of all the various taxes which 
have been properly certified to the Auditor, to- 
gether with the taxes it determines upon for 
county purposes. With the rates thus fixed the 
Auditor makes up the tax lists and delivers them 
to the County Treasurer on or before the 31st day 
of December. 

8. Collection— It is the duty of every person 
subject to taxation to attend at the office of the 
Treasurer at some time between the first Monday 
in January and the first Monday in March and 
pay his taxes in full ; or he may at his option pay 
one-half thereof at any time before the first Mon- 
day of March and the other half before the first 
of September without extra charge or penalty. 

All taxes are due the first of January, but may 
be paid in the manner stated above. Although 
they should be paid on the dates named, the tax- 
payer has an additional month in which to pay his 
taxes. If, however, they are not paid within this 
time, they are considered delinquent as from the 
first of March. The penalty for nonpayment is 
one per cent, a month until paid. 

9. Tak Sale of Lands — On the first Monday in 



TAXATION L39 

December of each year the Treasurer alter due 
notice offers at public sale all lands, town lots, 
and other real estate on which any taxes remain 
delinquent. 

io. Redemption — A person having real estate 
which has been sold for taxes may redeem the 
same at any time within three years by paying 
to the Auditor the amount for which it was sold 
with a penalty of ten per cent, and accumulated 
interest. If not so redeemed, the purchaser after 
due notice to the owner may apply to the Treas- 
urer and receive a deed. If the proceedings have 
been regular, the original owner loses all title to 
the property conveyed by such deed. 

ii. Sale of Personal Property — The Treasurer 
may also seize and sell the personal property of 
the delinquent taxpayer to enforce payment of 
taxes ; but where there is real estate from which 
the collection can be made other remedies are not 
ordinarily employed. 

12. Taxation of Railroads — All railroad property 
in the State is assessed by the Executive Council. 
This valuation is made at an average sum per 
mile of road, and depends upon the earnings of 
the several corporations and all other matters 
necessary to enable the council to make a just and 
equitable assessment. 

The Executive Council assesses also certain 
other public service companies. 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Adjournment of General As- 
- sembly 19 

Adjutant-General 89 

Administration of justice. . . . 100 

Admission as a State 43 

Agricultural College 93, 109 

Amendment of bill... 19, 70 

constitution 38, 111 

Amendments adopted 13 2 

Annual school meeting 133 

Appeal 29, 96 

Appointments to fill vacancies 13 5 

Assessment of taxes 137 

Assessors 125, 127 

Asylums 94 

Attainder, bills of 15, 59 

Attorney-General 31, 86 

Auditor of State 28, 85 

County .•. 119 

Bail, excessive 15, 58 

right to 14, 56 

Ballot, Australian 64 

Basis of representation 77 

Bills, passage of 19, 70 

title of . .22, 75 

when returned 19, 71 

Board of Equalization 137 

Health 89 

Boundaries of Iowa 11, 39 

Bridges 118 

Capital of State 40, 116 

Census 23, 76 

Chancery and law 29, 96 

Cities of first class 129 

second " 128 

Citizenship 62 

Claims against county 118 

Clerk, city 129 

county 119 

of supreme court 96 

Collection of taxes 138 

Commerce 107 

Commissioner of labor 90 

Commission plan of govern- 
ment 131 

Conservators of the peace. . . . 

29, 98, 120 

Constables 124 



PAGE 

Contracts for schools 134 

Constitution, development of. 43 

as an outline 47 

supreme law 40 

Convention, constitutional. 38, 112 

Coroner 121 

Corporations : 

banking 34, 106 

for profit 104 

for other purposes 104 

how created 34, 105 

municipal 34, 106 

name -of 104 

State not a shareholder. 34, 106 

taxable 34, 106 

utility of 104 

Counties, number and area. . . 117 

County Attorney 120 

Clerk 119 

officers 117 

terms of 121 

Courts : 

District 29, 97 

jurisdiction of 29, 97 

Justices 39, 113 

Superior 130 

Supreme 28, 95 

jurisdiction of 29, 95 

Dairy commissioners 91 

Delinquent taxpayers 138 

Directors of school district... 133 

Discovery of Iowa 41 

Distribution of powers.... 17, 67 
Districts, representative. . . .24, 77 

school 110, 133 

senatorial 24, 76 

Divorce 22, 74 

Duelling 13 

Early settlement 44 

Elections, contested 25, 80 

by general assembly. .. .24, 80 
Electors, privileges of....*. 16, 63 

Equalization of taxation 137 

Escheats 37,' 108 

Executive council. . , 86 

Fire, protection against.. 91, 128 
Foreigners, rights of 15, 59 

140 



INDEX 



141 



PAGE 

Free schools 135 

Freedom of speech 13, 53 

General assembly: 

duties of 18, 70 

election 17, 68 

eligibility 17, 68 

term of office . . . . 18, 68 

Government, nature of 50 

Habeas corpus 14, 56 

High schools, county 110 

High-school departments 110 

Historical department 92 

History of Iowa 41 

Impeachment 20, 72 

Imprisonment for debt..... 15, 58 

Incorporated towns 126 

officers of 127 

powers of 128 

Incorporation of cities 126 

Indebtedness of municipali- 
ties 39, 114 

Indebtedness of state. 32, 102, 103 
Independent school districts. . 133 

Indictable offenses 55 

Initiative and Referendum... 132 

Judges. See Courts. 

Judicial Department 28, 95 

districts 30 

Jurisdiction, denned. ....... 113 

Jury: 

Grand 31, 99 

right to trial by 13, 54 

Trial . 100 

Justice of the Peace 39, 124 

Laws, special, prohibited. .22, 75 
take effect, when-. 22, 74 

Lease of agricultural lands. .15, 60 

Legislative powers of nation. 46 
State 46 

Levy of taxes 138 

Lieutenant-Governor . .25, 27, 79 
president of senate 27, 84 

Liquor, manufacture and sale 
of 15 

Lotteries 22, 74 

Majority, rule of 51 

Marriage license 119 

Marshal 127, 129 

Mayor 127, 129 

Military subordinate to civil 

power 14, 57 

Militia ,.14, 31, 101 

Mine inspectors 90 

Monarchy versus Republic... 50 
Municipal corporations, classes 

of 126 

Municipal elections 131 



PAGE 

National Guard 101 

New counties, area of.... 39, 114 
Non-elective State officers. ... 89 

Oath of general assembly. .23, 75 

public office 39, 115 

Oil inspector 90 

Ordinances 128 

Pardon 27, 83 

Penitentiaries ^ . . . 93 

Petition, right of 15, 59 

Petty misdemeanors 14, 55 

Police 130 

Political power 50 

Printer and binder 91 

Private property, seizure of. 15, 58 

Process, stvle of 98 

Public credit 32, 102 

education 108 

roads 118, 125 

Railroad Commissioners 87 

Recall 132 

Redemption of real estate. ... 139 

Reformatories 93 

Register of births and deaths 119 

Religious liberty 12, 51 

Reporter 96 

Residence 63 

Rights, natural 49 

political 12, 49 

Riots 128 

Road supervisors 125 

Sale of personal property for 

taxes 139 

Salaries of county officers. . . . 122 
judicial " . . . . 99 

State " 88 

Schedule 40, 116 

School funds 36, 103, 108 

distribution of. 38, 109 

School year 135 

Seal 28, 84 

Search-warrants 13, 53 

Secretary of State 28, 85 

Sheriff 120 

Slavery 15, 59 

Solicitor 129 

Special charters 131 

State constitutions, differences 

in 43 

State librarian 91 

State University 93, 109 

Statutes 48 

Studies in common schools... 135 

Succession in office 27, 83 

Suffrage, importance of 61 

qualifications for 16, 61 

partial 62 

Supervisors 117 

duties of board 118 

meetings 118 



142 



IXDEX 



PAGE 

Superintendent of Public In- 
struction 86 

Support of schools 136 

Supremacy of nation 46 

State 47 

Surveyor 121 

Taxes 137 

Taxation of railroads 139 

Tax sale of lands 138 

Teachers' College 93,110 

Temporary school fund... 108, 136 

Terms of office 87 

Tie vote 80 

Township clerk 125 

officers 124 

Townships, civil 123 

congressional • • , 123 



PAGE 

Transportation ..**..„,.... 106 

Treason 14, 57 

Treasurer of State 28, 85 

Trial by jury. . . , , . .13, 54 

University fund 32, 36 

Vacancies in office 40, 115 

Variety of local government. . 44 

Veto .19, 71 

Voting, manner of 17, 65 

War debts 33, 103 

Wardens 91 

Wards 128 

Water-works 128 

Women eligible to office 121 



JUL SO 1912 






m 




gas 



MS 



SH5 



m 



■ 



I 



m 



m 

■ 



Bftrax 



■ 
HI 



SS» 



ftffiH 



ffiH 



&5i 



I 



Sm 



&§ 



*$& 



&§ 



ig 



si 



